Amalgamated Bank Sells 6,400 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,400 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $3,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COLB. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 4.5% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 55,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after buying an additional 2,396 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 29.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 47,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 10,776 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 20.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 44,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 7,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth about $446,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $20.06 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 0.69. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COLB shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens downgraded Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.19.

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.