Insider Selling: Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) VP Sells 4,481 Shares of Stock

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.3 %

COLB opened at $25.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.46. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.69%.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Stephens dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.38.

About Columbia Banking System

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.