Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Sold by Clifford Capital Partners LLC

Clifford Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 414,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 137,400 shares during the quarter. Columbia Banking System comprises 2.0% of Clifford Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Clifford Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $11,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COLB. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 35.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 14,824 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 23.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 15,845 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 572.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 484,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,089,000 after buying an additional 412,674 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 28.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 492,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,290,000 after buying an additional 108,994 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.9% during 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 worth $22,128,000 after buying an additional 16,165 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.13.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of COLB opened at $30.05 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.91 and a twelve month high of $32.70.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.