Boston Partners Purchases 350,229 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Boston Partners increased its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 38.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,271,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 350,229 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 0.61% of Columbia Banking System worth $34,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 2.9% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the third 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 during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 10.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,774,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,928,000 after buying an additional 42,527 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

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Columbia Banking System Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB traded up $0.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $25.67. 1,075,656 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,759,577. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.81 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 stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.62.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 56.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COLB shares. UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.