South Dakota Investment Council Has $848,000 Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 40.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,100 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,782,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 713,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,934,000 after buying an additional 68,388 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 461,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,911,000 after acquiring an additional 49,454 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth about $2,192,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 12.7% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,033,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,771,000 after purchasing an additional 228,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $31.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.77. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.77 and a 1-year high of $33.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $680.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.40 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 11.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.27.

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.