Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Shares Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 189,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,040 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.09% of Columbia Banking System worth $5,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COLB. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 171.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.00.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 7.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ COLB traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $20.59. 437,447 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,786,382. The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.31. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS 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 given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.99%. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.