Meeder Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,602,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $205,345,000 after purchasing an additional 61,242 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,315,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,602,000 after buying an additional 206,643 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611,563 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,249,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,099,000 after purchasing an additional 562,467 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $24.75 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $26.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 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.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COLB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reduced 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. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

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.