ARGA Investment Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

ARGA Investment Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 39.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 59,023 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 54.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 4,553 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB stock opened at $28.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.35 and a 200-day moving average of $27.04. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.74 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, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on COLB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.38.

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.