Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 23,855 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,658,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,855 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.75% of Columbia Banking System worth $98,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $65,249,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,001,000 after buying an additional 1,134,544 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at $22,476,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,271,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,662,000 after acquiring an additional 350,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,315,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,602,000 after acquiring an additional 206,643 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COLB. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on 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, Barclays decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ COLB traded up $0.56 on Tuesday, reaching $21.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 127,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,892. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.21.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is 56.69%.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.