Peregrine Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,478 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned 0.12% of Columbia Banking System worth $6,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 3.9% in the 1st 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 period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $47,928,000 after buying an additional 42,527 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $548,000 after buying an additional 12,275 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,001,000 after buying an additional 1,134,544 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 1.5%

COLB traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,244,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,818,652. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.02. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.08 and a 1 year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COLB shares. Raymond James Financial set a $27.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.