11,546 Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Bought by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.93. 1,584,470 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,773,545. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.59. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.11 and a 12 month high of $32.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.39 and a 200 day moving average of $26.74.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Columbia Banking System's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.02%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on COLB shares. Raymond James set a $27.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson set a $25.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.85.

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.