Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 53,847 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,614,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 53,847 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.77% of Columbia Banking System worth $42,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 175,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,583,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 111,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,903,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.5% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 28,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 682 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 25,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB opened at $31.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85. The company's 50-day moving average is $27.93 and its 200 day moving average is $23.92.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.07. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 16.15%. The company had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $478.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 62.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.12.

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.