Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 20,097 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 418,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,097 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $11,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,249,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 158.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,851,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,544 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,476,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,271,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,662,000 after purchasing an additional 350,229 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,456,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,363,000 after purchasing an additional 209,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $20.71 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.27. The company has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.53. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.95%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

About Columbia Banking System

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.