Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 8,628 Shares of Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Free Report) by 46.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,891 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 8,628 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN's holdings in Columbia Sportswear were worth $830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,284,140 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $107,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,214 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,207,605 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $101,355,000 after buying an additional 109,488 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Columbia Sportswear by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 884,731 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $74,255,000 after acquiring an additional 134,813 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 564,422 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $47,372,000 after acquiring an additional 13,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 418,531 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $35,127,000 after acquiring an additional 43,654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.76% of the company's stock.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Up 1.7 %

COLM traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.21. 1,807,569 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 571,877. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $71.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.35. Columbia Sportswear has a 1-year low of $58.44 and a 1-year high of $92.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.00.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The textile maker reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.07. Columbia Sportswear had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 6.63%. The company had revenue of $778.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Sportswear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Columbia Sportswear's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.69%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Sportswear

In related news, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total transaction of $369,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,319,177.88. This represents a 21.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of Columbia Sportswear stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $522,727.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,393,503.52. This trade represents a 27.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on Columbia Sportswear from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Columbia Sportswear from $91.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Columbia Sportswear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.00.

About Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.