Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Trims Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 47.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,098 shares during the quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,109,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $185,623,000 after acquiring an additional 178,327 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 worth $173,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,611,563 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,099,000 after purchasing an additional 562,467 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,614,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,166,000 after purchasing an additional 53,847 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,534,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,074,000 after purchasing an additional 190,311 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.01. 609,374 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,417,464. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.00. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. On average, analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.38.

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.