T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,830,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,550,065 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of Columbia Banking System worth $442,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,375,000 after buying an additional 8,730,937 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,106,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $506,069,000 after acquiring an additional 4,324,006 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,290,560 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,611,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,564,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,179,000 after purchasing an additional 163,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $30.55 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.07. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.12 and a 1-year high of $32.70. The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 11.41%. Columbia Banking System’s revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at $554,793.72. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.12.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.