Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New $875,000 Investment in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 27,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $875,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 571.7% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 194.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 168.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Stephens upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.35.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 2.0%

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $30.07 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.83 and a 1 year high of $33.67. The company has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.04.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.40 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 11.33%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,793.72. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.