Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Columbia Banking System worth $337,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COLB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 41.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,375,000 after buying an additional 8,730,937 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,117,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,538,000 after acquiring an additional 64,096 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $257,816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,491 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,816,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,761,000 after purchasing an additional 149,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 14.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,536,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,977,000 after purchasing an additional 929,862 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $64,624.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 98,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,906.65. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,206 shares of company stock worth $531,859. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $28.00 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $19.61 and a one year high of $32.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.66 and its 200 day moving average is $27.79. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.60.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COLB. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.