Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 480,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,142 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $14,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 143.8% in the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,742,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617,132 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 17.2% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,810,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $187,508,000 after purchasing an additional 853,211 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 216.2% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 897,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,918,000 after purchasing an additional 613,402 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 256.4% during the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 718,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,744,000 after purchasing an additional 516,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 10.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,922,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,212,000 after purchasing an additional 480,682 shares during the last quarter.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $21.08 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.88 and its 200-day moving average is $27.19. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 0.67. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.54 and a 12 month high of $35.53.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.18% and a return on equity of 9.55%. The firm had revenue of $429.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $441.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 31st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.83%. This is a boost from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Craig D. Eerkes purchased 2,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.01 per share, with a total value of $50,024.81. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 29,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,752.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.44.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It offers its services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. It operates through the Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California geographical segments. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Tacoma, WA.