Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) Director Steven Gardner Sells 10,522 Shares of Company Stock

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Director Steven Gardner sold 10,522 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.23, for a total transaction of $328,602.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,479.71. This trade represents a 80.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $30.70 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.12 and a 52 week high of $33.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.87.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $702.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.74 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 51.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $33.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.46.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 45,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 71,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 7,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Henshaw Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the first quarter. Henshaw Capital LLC now owns 34,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 5.5% in the third quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. It operates through Umpqua Bank, a full-service financial institution serving consumers, businesses, professionals and institutions.

Umpqua Bank provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, business banking, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth-management solutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, commercial real estate and business loans, consumer credit, online and mobile banking, and investment and advisory services.

Columbia Banking System traces its roots to the formation of Columbia State Bank in Washington in 1993.