Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 33%, owning 349,836 shares valued at approximately $8.7 million after purchasing an additional 86,817 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and LSV Asset Management, significantly increased their holdings in Columbia Banking System during the first quarter, indicating strong interest from the investment community.
• The company's stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $28.86, and it recently declared a dividend of $0.36, yielding 5.6% annually.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 33.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 349,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 86,817 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of Columbia Banking System worth $8,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 141.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Financial Harvest LLC bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter valued at $53,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 1st quarter valued at $118,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COLB shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.86.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:COLB traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,267,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,370,850. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.27. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.61 and a 52 week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $511.55 million for 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%. Columbia Banking System's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

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