Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Raises Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 58.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,586 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter worth $2,187,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 25.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,495,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,941,000 after buying an additional 1,497,177 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,461,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 40.8% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 83,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after buying an additional 24,100 shares during the period. Finally, HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth about $104,819,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $29.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.61 and a 12-month high of $31.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.77.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. 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 65.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.65.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.