Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Purchased by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 13.3% in the first quarter, owning approximately 2.7 million shares valued at around $67 million.
• Columbia Banking System's stock opened at $27.01 and has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, with a reported Q2 EPS of $0.76, exceeding analysts' estimates.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36, yielding 5.3%, and has a payout ratio of 57.14%.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,703,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 316,988 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 1.29% of Columbia Banking System worth $67,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 141.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Financial Harvest LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the first quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the first quarter valued at approximately $95,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.77. The company had a trading volume of 17,287,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,599,683. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.66. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $24.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.25.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $511.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on COLB. DA Davidson upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.86.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.