Norges Bank Invests $65.25 Million in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,415,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $65,249,000. Norges Bank owned 1.15% of Columbia Banking System at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 171.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 22,244.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 6,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

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Columbia Banking System Trading Down 1.0 %

Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $20.78. 1,981,642 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,781,243. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $25.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.53. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. As a group, analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.75.

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.