Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 858,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $17,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 85.1% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 144.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 111.5% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of COLB opened at $25.80 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $28.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.16 and a 200-day moving average of $20.83.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $472.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.01 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.94% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COLB shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.96.

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.