Cooke & Bieler LP Grows Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,150,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 130,646 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP owned approximately 1.02% of Columbia Banking System worth $53,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 141.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the first quarter valued at about $118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $27.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.79.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $23.88 on Thursday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.61 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.89. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 16.85%. The company had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Columbia Banking System's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.02%.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.

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