Madison Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI)

Madison Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI - Free Report) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,041,736 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 90,512 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC owned 0.92% of Glacier Bancorp worth $46,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Piedmont Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Glacier Bancorp by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Piedmont Capital Management LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the bank's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Glacier Bancorp by 0.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 39,635 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,753,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in Glacier Bancorp by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,430 shares of the bank's stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Glacier Bancorp by 1.1% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 27,136 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,200,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Glacier Bancorp by 1.0% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 31,800 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.17% of the company's stock.

Glacier Bancorp Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Glacier Bancorp stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.30. The company had a trading volume of 900,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 702,171. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.32 and a 200 day moving average of $44.70. Glacier Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.76 and a 52-week high of $60.67.

Glacier Bancorp (NASDAQ:GBCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.04). Glacier Bancorp had a net margin of 14.99% and a return on equity of 5.98%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Glacier Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Glacier Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Glacier Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Glacier Bancorp from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price (up from $45.00) on shares of Glacier Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Glacier Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Glacier Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Glacier Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.83.

About Glacier Bancorp

Glacier Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Glacier Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals, small to medium-sized businesses, community organizations, and public entities in the United States. The company offers retail banking, business banking, and mortgage origination and loan servicing services.