Sit Investment Associates Inc. Invests $840,000 in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 31,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $840,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 4.8 %

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $20.78 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.05 and its 200-day moving average is $27.49. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

About Columbia Banking System

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.