Lazard Asset Management LLC Takes $76,000 Position in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 917 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLM. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,911 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Columbia Sportswear by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 915 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 44,685 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,750,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,337 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 184.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Sportswear news, Director Stephen E. Babson sold 2,776 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $183,049.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 128,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,460,695.46. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total transaction of $369,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,319,177.88. This trade represents a 21.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 44.70% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Performance

Shares of COLM opened at $63.80 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.00. Columbia Sportswear has a one year low of $58.44 and a one year high of $92.88.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The textile maker reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $778.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $763.50 million. Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 12.23%. Columbia Sportswear’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Columbia Sportswear’s payout ratio is currently 30.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a report on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Columbia Sportswear from $91.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Columbia Sportswear from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Sportswear presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

About Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.