JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. significantly increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 221.3%, owning approximately 2.83% of the company by the end of the first quarter.
• Columbia Banking System reported a quarterly revenue of $511.55 million, surpassing the consensus estimate, and achieved an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76, exceeding expectations by $0.10.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 5.5%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 221.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,947,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,096,733 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 2.83% of Columbia Banking System worth $148,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 23.1% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 61,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after buying an additional 11,637 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 482,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,030,000 after buying an additional 1,970 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 3.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.8% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 34.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens raised Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.86.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.0%

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $26.14 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $24.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.41. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.61 and a 12 month high of $32.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS 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 business had revenue of $511.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

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.

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