New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 45,624 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 647,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,624 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $17,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at about $208,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $26.51 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.29. The company has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on COLB. UBS Group began coverage on Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens dropped their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.