Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 1,080,410 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System by 14.4%, selling 1,080,410 shares and now holds 6,415,370 shares (about 2.14% of the company) valued at $179.31 million.
• Major institutions including Vanguard, Wellington, State Street, Dimensional and American Century significantly increased their holdings, leaving 92.53% of COLB owned by institutional investors.
• Columbia Banking System beat quarterly EPS expectations (reported $0.82 vs. $0.72 consensus) and pays a quarterly dividend that annualizes to $1.48, a 5.1% yield with a 65.49% payout ratio.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,415,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,080,410 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 2.14% of Columbia Banking System worth $179,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $768,375,000 after acquiring an additional 8,730,937 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 135.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $354,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,921,303 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $345,113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,290,560 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $337,611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,016,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $257,816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,491 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $64,624.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 98,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,906.65. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 19,354 shares of company stock worth $561,971 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.58.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $28.96 on Monday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.09 and a 52 week high of $32.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.86 and a 200 day moving average of $27.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.61.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.49%.

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.

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.