California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 87,024 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 87,024 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.13% of Columbia Banking System worth $7,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,506.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter worth about $137,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut Columbia Banking System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.19.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 2.1 %

Columbia Banking System stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,983,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,378,917. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.69. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $28.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $18.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.13.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.52%. The business had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $480.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued 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 yield of 7.14%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is presently 61.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton bought 2,685 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.48 per share, with a total value of $49,618.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.