Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Purchased by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 241.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 136,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,500 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $3,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 41.3% during the 3rd 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 increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 135.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,921,303 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,113,000 after buying an additional 3,290,560 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 11.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,016,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,816,000 after buying an additional 1,067,491 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of COLB opened at $28.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $32.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.52.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The company had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $64,624.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 98,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,906.65. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,629 shares of company stock worth $158,044. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.73.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.