Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $13.05 Million Investment in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 407,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,049,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COLB. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 14,824 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 15,845 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 572.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 484,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,089,000 after buying an additional 412,674 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 28.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 492,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,290,000 after buying an additional 108,994 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 887,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,128,000 after buying an additional 16,165 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $554,793.72. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $29.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.68 and a 200-day moving average of $30.01. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.83 and a twelve month high of $33.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.40 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 19.96%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 58.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COLB shares. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research downgraded Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.35.

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.