First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stake in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 232,742 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,323 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.41% of Columbia Sportswear worth $19,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 915 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Cairn Investment Group Inc. grew its position in Columbia Sportswear by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 44,685 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $3,750,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,337 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 600 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 184.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.76% of the company's stock.

Columbia Sportswear Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLM traded down $2.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.87. The company had a trading volume of 578,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 555,197. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50 day moving average price is $73.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.81. Columbia Sportswear has a 52-week low of $58.43 and a 52-week high of $92.88.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The textile maker reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.07. Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The firm had revenue of $778.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $763.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Sportswear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Columbia Sportswear's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Sportswear

In related news, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total value of $522,727.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,393,503.52. The trade was a 27.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total transaction of $369,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,319,177.88. This represents a 21.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 44.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Columbia Sportswear from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com lowered Columbia Sportswear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $91.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.00.

Columbia Sportswear Company Profile

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.