11,029 Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB opened at $23.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.18 and a 200 day moving average of $25.85. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.22 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $482.86 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.71.

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.