8,604 Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Bought by Principle Wealth Partners LLC

Principle Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 1,506.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $18.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.71. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $28.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $18.52 and its 200 day moving average is $21.15.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.12. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 16.52%. The company had revenue of $473.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $480.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Columbia Banking System’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.80%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, insider Aaron James Deer purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.32 per share, with a total value of $38,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,942. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Aaron James Deer bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.32 per share, with a total value of $38,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,942. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Luis Machuca purchased 4,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.58 per share, with a total value of $100,615.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,251,984.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 9,574 shares of company stock worth $188,874. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Raymond James lowered Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.19.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.