165,556 Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Bought by General American Investors Co. Inc.

General American Investors Co. Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 165,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 135.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,921,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in 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 worth $337,611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter worth $103,012,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 worth $345,113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,290,560 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $31.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.36 and a 200-day moving average of $28.99. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $32.70. The company has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.