Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Acquired by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 3,617.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 75,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,439 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 14,824 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 23.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,063,000 after buying an additional 15,845 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 572.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 484,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,089,000 after buying an additional 412,674 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 28.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 492,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,290,000 after buying an additional 108,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 887,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,128,000 after acquiring an additional 16,165 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLB has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at $554,793.72. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $32.85 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $30.80 and its 200-day moving average is $29.63. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $33.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly 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 period last year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.96%.

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.