GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires New Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $48,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,079,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,714,000 after buying an additional 26,010 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth $80,011,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,939,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,980,000 after purchasing an additional 967,009 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 13.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,020,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,009,000 after purchasing an additional 243,841 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,772,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,983,000 after purchasing an additional 8,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at $462,018.48. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $19.75 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $28.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.14.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.39 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 61.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.19.

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.