Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Reduces Stock Position in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lessened its holdings in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Free Report) by 53.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,394 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 16,710 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Columbia Sportswear were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 184.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 600 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 915 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 942 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Columbia Sportswear by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,975 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Sportswear

In related news, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total value of $369,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,319,177.88. This trade represents a 21.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $522,727.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,048 shares in the company, valued at $1,393,503.52. The trade was a 27.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 44.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on COLM shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $68.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Columbia Sportswear from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Columbia Sportswear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Sportswear currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.80.

Columbia Sportswear Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLM traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.23. The company had a trading volume of 458,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,621. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Columbia Sportswear has a one year low of $59.07 and a one year high of $92.88. The company's 50-day moving average price is $77.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.73.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The textile maker reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.06). Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 12.23%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Sportswear Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Columbia Sportswear's payout ratio is presently 31.01%.

About Columbia Sportswear

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.