Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Has $16.11 Million Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 603,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 127,039 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.29% of Columbia Banking System worth $16,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,791,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $402,508,000 after purchasing an additional 7,465,846 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,492,946 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $192,517,000 after purchasing an additional 390,004 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,323,828 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $269,365,000 after purchasing an additional 168,751 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3,669.2% in the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 8,094,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $173,405,000 after purchasing an additional 7,880,183 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,079,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $143,714,000 after purchasing an additional 26,010 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ:COLB traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $18.85. 1,347,193 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,993,971. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.29. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.18 and a 52 week high of $28.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.71.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.35). Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $519.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered Columbia Banking System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Columbia Banking System from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Aaron James Deer purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.32 per share, with a total value of $38,640.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,942. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Christopher Merrywell bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.09 per share, with a total value of $105,450.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 50,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,069,832.43. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Aaron James Deer bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at $711,942. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737. Insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

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.