Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 54.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 141.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James set a $27.00 price objective on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.71.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $22.59. 1,983,130 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,781,470. The stock has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.22 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.64.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

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