Inspire Advisors LLC Has $1.99 Million Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Inspire Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,563 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COLB. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,563 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth $26,593,000. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1,001.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 962,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,126,000 after purchasing an additional 874,986 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth about $22,476,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,099,000 after purchasing an additional 562,467 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $24.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.26 and a 200-day moving average of $27.49.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 56.69%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COLB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.