Sowell Financial Services LLC Acquires 1,810 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,810 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $25.04 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.49. The company has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.75%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COLB shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens dropped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.