Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) VP Torran Nixon Sells 2,241 Shares

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) VP Torran Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 100,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,249.25. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 3.1%

NASDAQ:COLB traded down $0.86 on Friday, hitting $27.14. 1,217,646 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,877,311. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.66 and a 200-day moving average of $27.79. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.61 and a fifty-two week high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 9,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 38,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 122,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.9% during the third quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 9,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Stephens boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.