Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Sells 1,257 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp reduced its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 100,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $2,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 1,506.8% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 27.2% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James lowered Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Stephens downgraded Columbia Banking System from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In related news, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 160,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,315,111.83. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Elizabeth Whitehead Seaton purchased 2,685 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.48 per share, with a total value of $49,618.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 25,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,018.48. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth bought 2,500 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 160,073 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,111.83. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $719,737 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 1.9 %

Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $18.84. 191,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,823,843. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.18. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $519.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.94 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 10.27%. Columbia Banking System’s revenue for the quarter was up 52.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.27%.

Columbia Banking System Profile

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.