SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 1,194 Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 171.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

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 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 0.6 %

COLB stock opened at $24.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $32.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.14 and a 200-day moving average of $27.46.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.99%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COLB shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.38.

About Columbia Banking System

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.