19,740 Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Purchased by Mach 1 Financial Group LLC

Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 19,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 35,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 5,614 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 95,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after buying an additional 25,100 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 60,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after buying an additional 23,399 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 266,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,463,000 after buying an additional 3,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at $290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.13.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,906.65. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,629 shares of company stock worth $158,044. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $29.62 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.63. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $32.70.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 19.28%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 37.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 58.96%.

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.