Gabelli Funds LLC Has $6.79 Million Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 77.1% in Q3 to 263,817 shares, valued at $6.79 million (about 0.13% of the company).
• Other large institutions also ramped up positions — Vanguard holds 29.85 million shares ($768M) and Dimensional owns 13.12 million shares — leaving institutional investors with roughly 92.53% of the stock.
• Columbia beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.82 vs. $0.72; revenue $715M vs. $693M), declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 (annualized $1.48, yield 5.5%), and analysts have raised price targets though the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with an average target of $32.04.

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 263,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 114,890 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.13% of Columbia Banking System worth $6,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $768,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $337,611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313,883 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,117,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $236,538,000 after acquiring an additional 64,096 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,016,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,816,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $182,761,000 after acquiring an additional 149,718 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 100,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,838,249.25. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 18,206 shares of company stock valued at $531,859 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on COLB. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $27.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $29.60 and its 200 day moving average is $27.84. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.61 and a 12 month high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.The business had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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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