Carnegie Investment Counsel Acquires Shares of 15,800 Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 15,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $354,754,000 after buying an additional 7,921,303 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 140.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,666,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,237,000 after buying an additional 5,063,212 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $103,012,000. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 3,600.0% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 3,700,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,415,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake 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 worth $345,113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,290,560 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $32.25 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.77 and a 1-year high of $32.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 19.28%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at $554,793.72. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on COLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group assumed 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 for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.81.

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.