Principal Securities Inc. Boosts Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 171.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $57,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 111,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on COLB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 0.5 %

COLB opened at $26.67 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.52 and a 200 day moving average of $27.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.66. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

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.