Barclays PLC Reduces Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Barclays PLC decreased its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 418,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,961 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Columbia Banking System worth $11,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COLB. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter worth about $352,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 716,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,712,000 after purchasing an additional 97,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,592,000 after purchasing an additional 176,334 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on COLB. Citigroup lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.5 %

COLB opened at $22.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.09. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.11 and a 12-month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. On average, research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.53%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.