Dean Investment Associates LLC Cuts Stake in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)

Dean Investment Associates LLC lowered its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,666 shares of the textile maker’s stock after selling 12,364 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in Columbia Sportswear were worth $1,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 184.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 600 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 915 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 942 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.76% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Up 0.9 %

COLM stock opened at $65.52 on Friday. Columbia Sportswear has a twelve month low of $59.07 and a twelve month high of $92.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.11.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The textile maker reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.06). Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 12.23%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Sportswear Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Columbia Sportswear’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on COLM shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Sportswear currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.80.

Insider Activity at Columbia Sportswear

In other news, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $522,727.30. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,393,503.52. This trade represents a 27.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of Columbia Sportswear stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total transaction of $369,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,319,177.88. This represents a 21.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.