Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Stake Increased by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its Columbia Banking System stake by 140.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 274,357 shares valued at about $7.67 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 92.53% of the company’s stock; several large investors, including Vanguard and Wellington, also increased their positions.
• Columbia Banking System reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $0.72 and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, implying a 4.7% annualized yield.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 140.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 160,223 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned about 0.09% of Columbia Banking System worth $7,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 41.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $768,375,000 after buying an additional 8,730,937 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 135.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $354,754,000 after buying an additional 7,921,303 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $345,113,000 after buying an additional 3,290,560 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 68.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $337,611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 11.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,016,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $257,816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 18,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $554,793.72. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.13.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB stock opened at $31.31 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.91 and a 1-year high of $32.70. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.99.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 58.96%.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company's offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.

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