Simplicity Solutions LLC Sells 1,378 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Simplicity Solutions LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,378 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COLB. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 3,669.2% during the first quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 8,094,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,405,000 after acquiring an additional 7,880,183 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 65.9% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,791,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,508,000 after acquiring an additional 7,465,846 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 91.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,102,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,985,000 after buying an additional 4,342,755 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter valued at about $90,775,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,011,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on COLB. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.42.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $17.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.16. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $28.11. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.71.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.35). Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. The business had revenue of $519.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.12%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton purchased 2,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,018.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Aaron James Deer purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,942. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton purchased 2,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.