Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Bought by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,280 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,117,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,538,000 after purchasing an additional 64,096 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 18.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,948,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $209,220,000 after buying an additional 1,381,597 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,816,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,761,000 after buying an additional 149,718 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,497,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $29.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.75. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 65.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COLB shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.65.

Columbia Banking System 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.