Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) Position Lowered by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,840,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 459,282 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $184,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 384.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 64,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 51,212 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 439.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 79,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 65,072 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 868,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,688,000 after purchasing an additional 9,561 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 135.1% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 29,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 16,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth about $409,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.8 %

COLB stock opened at $24.75 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $17.08 and a one year high of $32.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.62.

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, 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued 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 currently 56.69%.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on COLB shares. Citigroup dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on 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. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

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.