Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 18.4%, owning over 6.5 million shares valued at approximately $162.8 million.
• Columbia Banking System announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36, representing an annualized yield of 5.6%, to be paid on September 15.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments about Columbia Banking System, with price targets ranging from $24.00 to $28.86, while maintaining a consensus rating of "Hold".

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 18.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,527,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,012,796 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.11% of Columbia Banking System worth $162,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COLB. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,625,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,024,000 after acquiring an additional 33,477 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,667,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $191,222,000 after purchasing an additional 351,375 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 221.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,947,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $148,342,000 after buying an additional 4,096,733 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,578,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,303,000 after buying an additional 121,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,150,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,637,000 after buying an additional 130,646 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 6.5%

NASDAQ COLB traded up $1.65 on Friday, hitting $26.97. 4,283,958 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,453,158. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.31 and a 200 day moving average of $24.33. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.61 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.86.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.