Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 1.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 254,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,955 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $6,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.6% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,330,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,346,000 after buying an additional 36,867 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 45.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 120,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 37,941 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 439.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 79,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 65,072 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,181,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 219.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 212,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after purchasing an additional 146,219 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 6.4 %

COLB stock opened at $26.80 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.14. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 10.13%. The company had revenue of $765.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Columbia Banking System Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.