Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 62.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $55,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611,563 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at $26,593,000. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,001.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 962,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,126,000 after acquiring an additional 874,986 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,099,000 after acquiring an additional 562,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 98.6% in the third quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 944,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,657,000 after acquiring an additional 468,832 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of COLB opened at $24.51 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.49. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company 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 payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.