Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Sells 34,098 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 47.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,098 shares during the quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $1,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 175,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,583,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 111,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of COLB stock opened at $27.90 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.93. The company has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.67. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COLB. StockNews.com upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.38.

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.