New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 114,395 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 25.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 572,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 114,395 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $14,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 145.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,671,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,187,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 278,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,179,000 after purchasing an additional 87,627 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,495,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497,177 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,461,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.65.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of COLB stock opened at $29.69 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.61 and a 12-month high of $31.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.70 and a 200-day moving average of $26.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.60.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.The firm had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This is a positive change from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.49%.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.