Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 77.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 54,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 187,618 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 36.5% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 47.0% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 34,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 11,079 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at $268,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth $475,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 16,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.04.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $64,624.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 98,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,906.65. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,206 shares of company stock worth $531,859. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

COLB stock opened at $28.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $19.61 and a one year high of $32.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.79.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 65.49%.

Columbia Banking System 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.