First Pacific Financial Invests $40,000 in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

First Pacific Financial acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Columbia Banking System by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,791,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,508,000 after acquiring an additional 7,465,846 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,492,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,517,000 after purchasing an additional 390,004 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,323,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,365,000 after purchasing an additional 168,751 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3,669.2% in the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 8,094,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,405,000 after purchasing an additional 7,880,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,079,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,714,000 after purchasing an additional 26,010 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $31.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, January 25th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.04.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton acquired 2,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.48 per share, with a total value of $49,618.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at $462,018.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton bought 2,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,618.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,001 shares in the company, valued at $462,018.48. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Aaron James Deer bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.32 per share, with a total value of $38,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,942. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of COLB stock opened at $19.10 on Thursday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.18 and a 12 month high of $28.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.37.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $519.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $525.94 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 12.71%. Columbia Banking System’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

About Columbia Banking System

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.