Citigroup Inc. Purchases 62,432 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,432 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.15% of Columbia Banking System worth $8,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,375,000 after buying an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter worth about $104,819,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,671,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,495,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,941,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497,177 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 18.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,381,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $28.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.74. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.61 and a fifty-two week high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.04.

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.