Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Raises Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COLB. HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth approximately $104,819,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,948,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $209,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381,597 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at $23,813,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,773.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 767,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,935,000 after purchasing an additional 726,163 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 681.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 786,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,379,000 after purchasing an additional 685,467 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 1.1%

COLB stock opened at $29.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.96 and a 200-day moving average of $26.30. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.61 and a 12-month high of $29.72.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $348.47 million for the quarter. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 15.98%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. This is a positive change from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.92.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.