Cooke & Bieler LP Sells 200,390 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Cooke & Bieler LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,255,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 200,390 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $63,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 135.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,754,000 after buying an additional 7,921,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 68.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,611,000 after buying an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 145.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,671,000 after buying an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,113,000 after buying an additional 3,290,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $29.73 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.91 and a 12 month high of $32.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The business had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 58.96%.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $64,624.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 98,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,906.65. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 5,629 shares of company stock worth $158,044 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.13.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.