Franklin Resources Inc. Has $165.45 Million Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,919,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 201,039 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $165,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 41.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,375,000 after acquiring an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 135.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,754,000 after acquiring an additional 7,921,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 68.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,012,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,290,560 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COLB shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.13.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $30.15 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $32.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.92. The firm has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 19.28%.The firm had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.34 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

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.