Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC cut its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 418,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,961 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $11,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COLB. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COLB. Stephens dropped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.00.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $22.06 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.09. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.53. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.11 and a 12-month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate 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.