Inceptionr LLC Invests $419,000 in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other 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 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 $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB opened at $25.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on COLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.38.

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.