Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,840,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 459,282 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 3.26% of Columbia Banking System worth $184,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of COLB traded down $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,469,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,775,220. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.47. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $32.85.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.93%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,545.31. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on COLB shares. UBS Group began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.25.

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.