Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $474,000 Investment in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 171.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 22,244.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 6,006 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $25.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.49.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

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.