Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Columbia Banking System, buying 85,700 shares worth about $2.35 million in the first quarter.
• Columbia Banking System reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting $0.72 EPS versus estimates of $0.68, while revenue came in slightly below forecast at $675 million.
• The bank continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.37, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.6%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $32.12.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 85,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,351,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,106,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $506,069,000 after acquiring an additional 4,324,006 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $345,113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,290,560 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 68.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $337,611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,564,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $351,179,000 after purchasing an additional 163,543 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 140.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,666,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,063,212 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Columbia Banking System from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.12.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ COLB opened at $31.98 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.23. The company has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.77 and a 1 year high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 19.28%.The business's revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Columbia Banking System 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COLB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.