Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 832,111 Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 832,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,476,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.40% of Columbia Banking System at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,315,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,602,000 after acquiring an additional 206,643 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $173,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,563 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,099,000 after purchasing an additional 562,467 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,787,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,267,000 after purchasing an additional 172,066 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.2% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,534,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,074,000 after buying an additional 190,311 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

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Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $24.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 766,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,777,669. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.47. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.77%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.25.

About Columbia Banking System

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.