Pzena Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,926,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 384,649 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $49,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 35.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 14,824 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 15,845 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 572.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 484,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,089,000 after purchasing an additional 412,674 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.9% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $31.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.43. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.61 and a fifty-two week high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.88.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.