Palisade Capital Management LP Sells 10,872 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Palisade Capital Management LP cut its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,074,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,872 shares during the quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP owned 0.51% of Columbia Banking System worth $26,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,774,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,928,000 after purchasing an additional 42,527 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 126.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,959 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 12,275 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,544 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.45. 2,244,870 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,818,652. The stock has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.62. The business's fifty day moving average is $23.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.02. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $19.08 and a one year 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 16.85%. The firm's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 61.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $27.00 price target on Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.29.

About Columbia Banking System

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.