Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Lowers Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC reduced its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 583,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,818 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $16,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 41.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,851,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,730,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 135.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,407,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,290,560 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 68.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,116,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,611,000 after purchasing an additional 5,313,883 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,564,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,179,000 after purchasing an additional 163,543 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.13.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $30.05 on Thursday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.91 and a 1 year high of $32.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.05. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 19.28%.The business had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.34 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.