Peregrine Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 106,054 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned 0.15% of Columbia Banking System worth $8,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 65.9% during the first 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 position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.3% during the second 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 position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.8% during the third 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 position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3,669.2% during the first 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 position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.4% during the third 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton purchased 2,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the purchase, the director now owns 25,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,018.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Aaron James Deer bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton bought 2,685 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.48 per share, with a total value of $49,618.80. Following the purchase, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at $462,018.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 5.5 %

Shares of COLB stock traded down $1.05 on Wednesday, hitting $18.05. 2,565,518 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,965,395. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.71. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $17.18 and a one year high of $28.11. The firm's 50 day moving average is $18.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.27.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.98%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 87.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens lowered Columbia Banking System from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.42.

Columbia Banking System 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.