Arizona State Retirement System Raises Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 88,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,155 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,117,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,538,000 after purchasing an additional 64,096 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $209,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381,597 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $182,761,000 after purchasing an additional 149,718 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 25.0% during 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 145.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,671,000 after buying an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.88.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ COLB opened at $31.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.61. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $19.61 and a one year high of $31.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.90.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS 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 issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.