ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 128,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,142 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.06% of Columbia Banking System worth $3,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 261,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,068,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 85.1% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 58,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 51,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $27.69 on Thursday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $28.15. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.80. The company has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.64.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $472.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $476.01 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 23rd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 61.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on COLB shares. Stephens raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wedbush raised Columbia Banking System from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.81.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.