Securian Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 449 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 31.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $173,873,000 after buying an additional 1,611,563 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the third quarter worth $26,593,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,001.8% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 962,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,126,000 after buying an additional 874,986 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,476,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 33.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,099,000 after buying an additional 562,467 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $24.77 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.47.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

Columbia Banking System 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.