Davidson Investment Advisors Sells 453,536 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Davidson Investment Advisors lowered its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 98.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 453,536 shares during the quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COLB. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,611,563 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,593,000. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,001.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 962,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,126,000 after purchasing an additional 874,986 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 98.6% in the third quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 944,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,657,000 after purchasing an additional 468,832 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:COLB traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.51. 1,033,301 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,319,629. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $27.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.66.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens decreased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.