Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 8,730,937 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 41.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Columbia Banking System worth $768,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the second quarter worth approximately $104,819,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $180,671,000 after buying an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,495,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,941,000 after buying an additional 1,497,177 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 18.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,948,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $209,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381,597 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at about $23,813,000. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $31.76 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.56. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $32.70.

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

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COLB shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.88.

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.