Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Makes New Investment in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 35,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 135.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,921,303 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,290,560 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,564,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,179,000 after purchasing an additional 163,543 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $30.88 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $32.70. The firm has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.03.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.13.

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.