Cerity Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,863 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 23.1% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 61,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 11,637 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 482,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 24,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 126.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 12,275 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COLB shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.79.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $24.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $32.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.95 and its 200-day moving average is $24.82.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $481.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 61.02%.

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.