South Dakota Investment Council Sells 4,025 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 239,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,025 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $6,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 175,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,583,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 111,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of COLB stock opened at $26.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.29. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.