Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 68.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,313,883 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 6.24% of Columbia Banking System worth $337,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 612.8% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 194.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.04.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $63,308.25. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 100,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,249.25. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,206 shares of company stock worth $531,859. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of COLB opened at $28.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.79. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.61 and a 52 week high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.The business had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $693.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

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.