Swiss National Bank Grows Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 412,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Columbia Banking System worth $11,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $24.62 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.43.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.85%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

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.