First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 5.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,790,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 104,111 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $46,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 4.5% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 9,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 9,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 18,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total value of $63,308.25. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 100,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,249.25. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,206 shares of company stock worth $531,859 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $26.77 on Thursday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.61 and a 1-year high of $32.70. The stock has a market cap of $7.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.83.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS 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 company had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 65.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.04.

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.