Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 17,623 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 65.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,623 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 22,244.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 6,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $24.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.50. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Nine 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.