Insider Selling: Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) CMO Sells $115,269.44 in Stock

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at $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 is accessible through this link.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB stock opened at $31.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.99. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Columbia Banking System

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 35.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 14,824 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 23.7% in the first 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 buying an additional 15,845 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 572.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 484,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,089,000 after buying an additional 412,674 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $12,290,000 after buying an additional 108,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COLB. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.13.

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.