Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases 174,754 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 21.0%, acquiring an additional 174,754 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 1,006,864 shares valued at approximately $25.1 million.
• Columbia Banking System reported $0.76 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.66, with revenue of $511.55 million compared to the consensus estimate of $492 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.44 and a yield of 5.4%, scheduled to be paid on September 15th to stockholders on record as of August 29th.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,006,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 174,754 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Columbia Banking System worth $25,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 141.3% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Financial Harvest LLC bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the first quarter valued at $53,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the first quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the first quarter valued at $118,000. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on COLB shares. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.50 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Columbia Banking System to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.86.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,287,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,599,683. The stock has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.25. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.61 and a 12 month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $511.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.00 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.