California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 87,024 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 87,024 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $7,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 11.0% in the third quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,231,000 after acquiring an additional 40,215 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1,633.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,933 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the 3rd 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. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 20,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 146,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,910,000 after purchasing an additional 25,771 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $20.17 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $28.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.13.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.14%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 61.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James cut Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Columbia Banking System from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton bought 2,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.