Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp reduced its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,680,000 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. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 27.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.6% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 33,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 4.5% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 55,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 16.5% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 29.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 47,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 10,776 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.37 on Thursday, reaching $18.84. 191,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,823,843. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.49 and its 200-day moving average is $21.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.71. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.35). Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The business had revenue of $519.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.94 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 52.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.27%.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CEO Clint Stein bought 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.96 per share, for a total transaction of $199,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,472,736.64. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Clint Stein bought 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.96 per share, for a total transaction of $199,120.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,472,736.64. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Aaron James Deer bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.32 per share, with a total value of $38,640.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 36,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,942. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 over the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COLB. Barclays began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.42.

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.