Evolve Private Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 26,642 Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $854,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,782,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 713,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,934,000 after acquiring an additional 68,388 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 461,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,911,000 after acquiring an additional 49,454 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3,617.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 75,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 73,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 12.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.35.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In related news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $30.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.71 and its 200 day moving average is $30.06. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.83 and a fifty-two week high of $33.67.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $677.00 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 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.