Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 3,254.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 128,992 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.06% of Columbia Banking System worth $3,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 305.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 4,093 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,307,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $519,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 4,089.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 405,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,940,000 after purchasing an additional 395,355 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB stock traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,616,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,777,962. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.27 and a 200-day moving average of $25.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.22 and a 12-month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James set a $27.00 price objective on Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.71.

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.