Columbia Banking System, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.37 (NASDAQ:COLB)

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.37 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th.

Columbia Banking System has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Columbia Banking System has a payout ratio of 48.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Columbia Banking System to earn $2.89 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.2%.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of COLB traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.49. The stock had a trading volume of 3,291,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,825,734. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.20. Columbia Banking System has a 52 week low of $19.61 and a 52 week high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In related news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Columbia Banking System

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 41.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 135.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,754,000 after buying an additional 7,921,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System by 68.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,611,000 after buying an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth about $104,819,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 145.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,671,000 after buying an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.