269,611 Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Purchased by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 269,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,711,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,746,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth $45,104,000. Lone Peak Global Investors LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 5.9% during the second quarter. Lone Peak Global Investors LLC now owns 569,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,242,000 after buying an additional 31,925 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 52.7% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 102,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,285,000 after buying an additional 35,365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter valued at $68,906,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.62.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ COLB opened at $31.37 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.91. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $25.51 and a one year high of $33.67. The company has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.72.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.05. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 22.83% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $702.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is 51.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, Director Steven Gardner sold 10,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.23, for a total value of $328,602.06. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,479.71. This trade represents a 80.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.