21,767 Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Purchased by Vista Investment Management

Vista Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 21,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $698,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 571.7% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 194.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 168.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $554,793.72. This represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on COLB shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.35.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.1%

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $30.81 on Friday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.83 and a 12-month high of $33.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.06.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The company had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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.