Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,239 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 39.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 664,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,094,000 after purchasing an additional 187,551 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 145.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,671,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of 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. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 45.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 278,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,179,000 after purchasing an additional 87,627 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 78.9% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 69,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 30,537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 100,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,249.25. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 5,629 shares of company stock worth $158,044 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COLB. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.13.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $29.73 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.67. The firm has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $675.00 million during 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 firm’s revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 58.96%.

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.