832,111 Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 832,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,476,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Columbia Banking System at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,563 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth approximately $26,593,000. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 1,001.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 962,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,126,000 after purchasing an additional 874,986 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,099,000 after purchasing an additional 562,467 shares during the period. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 98.6% in the third quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 944,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,657,000 after purchasing an additional 468,832 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ COLB opened at $24.77 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.46.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.