Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Stock: Cooke & Bieler LP Lowers Stake

Cooke & Bieler LP lessened its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 19.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,214,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 286,046 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP owned approximately 0.43% of Columbia Banking System worth $34,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 40,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after buying an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 80,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,293,000 after buying an additional 2,554 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 185.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 73,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 47,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 332,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,519,000 after acquiring an additional 21,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $29.20 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.22. The stock has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.75 and a 12 month high of $33.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its 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 net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The firm had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on COLB. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.23.

Columbia Banking System Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. It operates through Umpqua Bank, a full-service financial institution serving consumers, businesses, professionals and institutions.

Umpqua Bank provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, business banking, treasury and cash-management services, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth-management solutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, commercial real estate and business loans, consumer credit, online and mobile banking, and investment and advisory services.

Columbia Banking System traces its roots to the formation of Columbia State Bank in Washington in 1993.