Natixis Advisors LLC Has $2.86 Million Stock Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,802 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 22,244.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $24.72 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.83%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 56.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COLB. Barclays increased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a 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 report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.