Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Buys 30,500 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 474,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,500 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $12,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $797,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 30,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 27,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 3,950 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 178,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,826,000 after buying an additional 6,840 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 91,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,476,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COLB shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $21.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.14. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.44 and a 1 year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Columbia Banking System Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.