378,644 Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Acquired by Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 378,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,227,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned 0.18% of Columbia Banking System as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,625,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $341,024,000 after purchasing an additional 33,477 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,602,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $205,345,000 after buying an additional 61,242 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,315,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,602,000 after buying an additional 206,643 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,514,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $148,956,000 after acquiring an additional 512,542 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,456,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,363,000 after acquiring an additional 209,774 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. DA Davidson set a $25.00 target price on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.85.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.62. 646,397 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,766,437. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $23.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.90. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.11 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is presently 61.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.68% 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.