Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Has $60.07 Million Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lowered its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,223,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93,798 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $60,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,342,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 2.3 %

COLB opened at $24.73 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.50. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $32.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.62.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.82%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COLB shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.25.

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.