Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 132,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,448 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $3,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of COLB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,315,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,602,000 after buying an additional 206,643 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611,563 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,099,000 after acquiring an additional 562,467 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,787,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,267,000 after acquiring an additional 172,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,774,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,928,000 after purchasing an additional 42,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $25.57 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.49. The company has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.63%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

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.