Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,030,545 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 35,195 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 5.30% of Columbia Sportswear worth $254,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COLM. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Columbia Sportswear by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 884,731 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $74,255,000 after acquiring an additional 134,813 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,207,605 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $101,355,000 after purchasing an additional 109,488 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Columbia Sportswear during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,356,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 143,831 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $12,072,000 after purchasing an additional 47,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 418,531 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $35,127,000 after purchasing an additional 43,654 shares during the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COLM. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Columbia Sportswear from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Columbia Sportswear from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Columbia Sportswear Price Performance

Columbia Sportswear stock traded up $7.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.35. 1,588,525 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 543,211. The firm's fifty day moving average is $79.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. Columbia Sportswear has a fifty-two week low of $55.58 and a fifty-two week high of $92.88.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Sportswear Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Columbia Sportswear's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $522,727.30. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,393,503.52. This trade represents a 27.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of Columbia Sportswear 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,319,177.88. This represents a 21.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.