Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) VP Sells $64,624.00 in Stock

Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) VP Torran Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $64,624.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 98,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,906.65. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.00. 2,464,153 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,917,518. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.61 and a 52-week high of $32.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.79.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Wall Street Zen raised Columbia Banking System to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.04.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COLB. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 39.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 664,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,094,000 after buying an additional 187,551 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 145.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,019,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,671,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157,835 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,187,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 45.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 278,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,179,000 after purchasing an additional 87,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,495,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $192,941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497,177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

About Columbia Banking System

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.