Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 938,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 258,946 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.45% of Columbia Banking System worth $25,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 132,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,569,000 after buying an additional 4,063 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 122,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,303,000 after acquiring an additional 4,408 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 385.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 119,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,229,000 after purchasing an additional 94,916 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ COLB opened at $25.02 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.45 and its 200-day moving average is $26.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $18.11 and a one year high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.59.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.76%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson set a $25.00 price objective on Columbia Banking System and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.85.

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.