Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 356,750 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,571,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 356,750 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.75% of Columbia Banking System worth $41,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 51,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 14,395 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 261,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,970,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton bought 2,685 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.48 per share, with a total value of $49,618.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at $462,018.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.62 and a 200-day moving average of $21.14. The firm 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 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $480.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.14%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 61.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson cut their price target 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. Stephens downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.19.

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.