Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Decreases Stock Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 850 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 261,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,068,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 92,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,460,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 85.1% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 58,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 2.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 51,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $26.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.64. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $28.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.56 and a 200 day moving average of $21.19.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $472.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.01 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush raised Columbia Banking System from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

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.