Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 140.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 160,223 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $7,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COLB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 7,921,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth about $103,012,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,290,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $31.31 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.91 and a twelve month high of $32.70. The company has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.99.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Columbia Banking System’s revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

About Columbia Banking System

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.