Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 407,151 Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 407,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,049,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.14% of Columbia Banking System at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 194.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 571.7% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 168.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $29.64 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.01. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.83 and a 52 week high of $33.67. The company has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 19.96%.The business had revenue of $677.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at $554,793.72. The trade was 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 at this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.35.

Columbia Banking System 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.