Cooke & Bieler LP Trims Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Cooke & Bieler LP decreased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,019,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 46,840 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 0.96% of Columbia Banking System worth $54,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 171.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 36.8% during 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 lifted 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 worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of COLB opened at $24.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.88%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.