New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stake in Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM - Free Report) by 90.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,406 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 169,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Columbia Sportswear were worth $1,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Sportswear during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,904,000. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,804 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Columbia Sportswear in the 4th quarter worth about $324,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Columbia Sportswear in the 4th quarter worth about $1,360,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen E. Babson sold 2,776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $183,049.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 128,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,460,695.46. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 48.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Columbia Sportswear Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of COLM traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $60.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 487,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 519,462. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.08 and its 200-day moving average is $71.46. Columbia Sportswear Company has a 52-week low of $58.44 and a 52-week high of $92.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.97.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The textile maker reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.07. Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $778.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Columbia Sportswear's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Sportswear Company will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a research note on Friday, May 30th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $91.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.00.

About Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.