California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 273,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 87,024 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.13% of Columbia Banking System worth $7,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 405,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,231,000 after buying an additional 40,215 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1,633.4% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,277,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,933 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 32.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,939,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,980,000 after acquiring an additional 967,009 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 20,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 146,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,910,000 after acquiring an additional 25,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 2.1 %

COLB stock opened at $20.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.13. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.39 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.52% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.14%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 61.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet cut Columbia Banking System from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stephens lowered Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.19.

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.