Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 190,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,464 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $5,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,853,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 27.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.6% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 33,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 59,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $19.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.50 and a 200-day moving average of $21.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.71. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $519.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.94 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. Columbia Banking System’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.57%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.27%.

Insider Activity

In other Columbia Banking System news, insider Aaron James Deer purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at $711,942. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 160,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,315,111.83. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Aaron James Deer bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.32 per share, for a total transaction of $38,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at $711,942. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 over the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered Columbia Banking System from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $36.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.42.

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.