Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 10,473 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,473 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings 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 period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings 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 worth $80,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 22,244.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 6,006 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens lowered their target price on 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, Barclays lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.72. The stock had a trading volume of 3,922,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,764,134. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.43. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $32.85.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.83%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

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.