Clifford Capital Partners LLC Purchases 236,295 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 551,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 236,295 shares during the period. Columbia Banking System comprises about 2.5% of Clifford Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Clifford Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $14,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 41.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,375,000 after acquiring an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 135.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,921,303 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 68.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter worth about $104,819,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 145.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,157,835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In related news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $403,926.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $64,624.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 98,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,906.65. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 18,206 shares of company stock worth $531,859 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on COLB shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB stock opened at $26.23 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $32.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.48 and a 200 day moving average of $27.82. The company has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.60.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.The business had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $693.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.49%.

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.