Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 27,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $875,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the second quarter valued at approximately $880,443,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 135.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,782,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,921,303 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 140.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,666,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,237,000 after purchasing an additional 5,063,212 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the second quarter worth $120,867,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the fourth quarter worth $103,012,000. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COLB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research lowered Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,793.72. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of COLB opened at $30.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.83 and a 12 month high of $33.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.04.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm 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 earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.