Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Purchases 484,304 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 268.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 664,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 484,304 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $17,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COLB. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 14,824 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 15,845 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 572.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 484,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,089,000 after acquiring an additional 412,674 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 492,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,290,000 after acquiring an additional 108,994 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 887,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,128,000 after acquiring an additional 16,165 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Stephens upped their price target on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 0.7%

COLB opened at $26.23 on Monday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.61 and a twelve month high of $32.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.48 and a 200-day moving average of $27.83. The stock has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $64,624.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 98,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,906.65. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,206 shares of company stock worth $531,859. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.