Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Acquired by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 247.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 398,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 283,643 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.19% of Columbia Banking System worth $10,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 171.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents 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. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 2.8 %

COLB stock traded up $0.65 during trading on Thursday, reaching $24.05. 505,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,700,205. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.78. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.59. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.11 and a twelve month high of $32.85.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is presently 61.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson set a $25.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James set a $27.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.85.

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.