Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Boosts Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 40.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 83,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,819,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 18.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,948,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $209,220,000 after buying an additional 1,381,597 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at $23,813,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1,773.2% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 767,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,935,000 after acquiring an additional 726,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 681.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 786,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,379,000 after acquiring an additional 685,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $29.05 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $19.61 and a one year high of $29.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.96 and its 200-day moving average is $26.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.60.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $348.47 million for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COLB shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler set a $33.00 target price on Columbia Banking System in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.92.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.