Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 485,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 211,787 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Columbia Banking System worth $12,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Leeward Investments LLC MA grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 16.3% in the third quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 1,083,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,303,000 after purchasing an additional 152,083 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $257,000. BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the third quarter valued at $222,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 7.4% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 117,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,078,000 after acquiring an additional 8,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 4,553 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.88. 939,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,793,780. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $31.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.11 and a 200-day moving average of $23.44.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $765.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $478.80 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.13% and a net margin of 16.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.12.

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.