Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 67.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,982 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% during 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 period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at about $233,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $26.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.36. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.41%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.