Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 16,035 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 659,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $18,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 38,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 122,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.2% during the third quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 37,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.81.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In related news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $554,793.72. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB stock opened at $32.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.77 and a 1-year high of $33.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.66.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 19.28%.Columbia Banking System’s revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 58.96%.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.