Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 3,685,594 Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Columbia Banking System, buying 3,685,594 shares worth about $103.0 million, giving it roughly 1.23% ownership of the company.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 92.53% of the stock; several firms, including Millennium Management and Goldman Sachs, also increased their positions recently.
• Columbia Banking System reported Q1 EPS of $0.72, topping estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, equal to a 5.0% yield.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,685,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $103,012,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.23% of Columbia Banking System as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 14,824 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 15,845 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 572.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 484,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,089,000 after purchasing an additional 412,674 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 492,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,290,000 after purchasing an additional 108,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 887,267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,128,000 after purchasing an additional 16,165 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Columbia Banking System from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Banking System from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.13.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ COLB opened at $29.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.84. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.91 and a 1-year high of $32.70.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

About Columbia Banking System

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.

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