Cooke & Bieler LP Acquires 310,672 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 14.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,456,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 310,672 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 1.17% of Columbia Banking System worth $63,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,117,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,538,000 after acquiring an additional 64,096 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 18.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,381,597 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,816,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,761,000 after buying an additional 149,718 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 25.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,495,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,941,000 after buying an additional 1,497,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 11.1% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,606,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $154,452,000 after acquiring an additional 658,196 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $28.88 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.38 and its 200 day moving average is $26.63. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.61 and a 52-week high of $31.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.The business had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $693.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This is a positive change from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.49%.

Trending Headlines about Columbia Banking System

Here are the key news stories impacting Columbia Banking System this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on both EPS and revenue — COLB reported $0.82 EPS vs. $0.72 consensus and $715M revenue, driven by revenue growth and lower provisions. This supports earnings momentum. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition tailwinds — the Pacific Premier deal contributed its first full quarter, boosting revenue and offering expected cost‑savings/synergy opportunities highlighted in coverage. COLB Q4 deep dive
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifted targets and forecasts after the results — DA Davidson bumped its PT to $32.50 (neutral) and RBC raised its PT to $32 (sector perform), signaling modest upside from current levels. DA Davidson PT raise RBC PT raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor resources published (earnings call transcript, slide deck) allowing deeper review of metrics like ROE (11.13%) and net margin (15.98%) for modeling and due diligence. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Rising operating expenses and integration costs were highlighted in coverage; higher expenses may pressure near‑term margins despite revenue gains. This appears to be weighing on sentiment. Zacks: expenses rose
• Negative Sentiment: High trading volume on the decline suggests profit‑taking after the beat; coupled with mostly neutral/sector‑perform analyst stances, upside may be capped near-term. (Market volume data referenced in trading summary.) MarketBeat earnings summary

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.27.

About Columbia Banking System

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.