Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 60,605 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Two Sigma Investments LP trimmed its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 28.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 60,605 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.07% of Columbia Banking System worth $4,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,181,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,910,000 after acquiring an additional 16,610 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $401,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $751,000. Finally, Mork Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $994,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COLB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 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, DA Davidson set a $25.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.64.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of COLB traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $23.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,805,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,132. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.12. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $18.20 and a one year high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 0.59.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The company had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.02%.

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.