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

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 3,254.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 128,992 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.06% of Columbia Banking System worth $3,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.71.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of COLB stock traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.60. 2,616,973 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,780,662. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 0.63. The company's 50 day moving average is $23.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.68. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.22 and a 1 year high of $32.85.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

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

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.