Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,003,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 115,288 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.48% of Columbia Banking System worth $25,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 37.6% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 411,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,590,000 after acquiring an additional 112,445 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 11.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,016,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067,491 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at $253,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 70,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 18,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 47.0% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 34,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 11,079 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Barclays increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Stephens raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $29.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.76. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.61 and a 12-month high of $32.70. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.61.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.The company had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 65.49%.

About Columbia Banking System

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.