JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 158.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,134,544 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $50,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 22,244.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 6,006 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COLB. Stephens lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup decreased 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 4.8 %

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $20.78 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.47.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

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.