Bank of New York Mellon Corp Increases Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,422,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 403,049 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $207,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 194.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 168.8% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at about $63,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.13.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB stock opened at $29.66 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.84. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $32.70. The firm has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

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.