Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $1.71 Million Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 63,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,707,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $173,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611,563 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the third quarter worth about $26,593,000. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,001.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 962,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,126,000 after acquiring an additional 874,986 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,476,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,099,000 after purchasing an additional 562,467 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on COLB. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.25.

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Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,149,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,781,492. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $26.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.47. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $32.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio is 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.