Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $751,000 in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 27,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $751,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COLB. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 132,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,569,000 after acquiring an additional 4,063 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,342,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 122,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,303,000 after buying an additional 4,408 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 385.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 119,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,229,000 after buying an additional 94,916 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. DA Davidson set a $25.00 price objective on Columbia Banking System and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.85.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $24.89 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $23.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.59. The company has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.59. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.11 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Columbia Banking System's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.02%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System 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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