Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Purchased by Maltese Capital Management LLC

Maltese Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 205.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 205,500 shares during the period. Columbia Banking System comprises 1.2% of Maltese Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $7,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 138.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 60,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 35,327 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 146,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,780,000 after acquiring an additional 33,148 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,723,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Columbia Banking System by 268.5% during the third quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 664,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,109,000 after purchasing an additional 484,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at $433,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $403,926.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 2,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $63,308.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 100,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,249.25. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,206 shares of company stock worth $531,859. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COLB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 0.5%

COLB stock opened at $26.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.60. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.61 and a 52-week high of $32.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.82.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.10. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 17.11%.The firm had revenue of $715.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc is a bank holding company that operates through its principal subsidiary, Columbia State Bank. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, the company provides a full range of banking and financial services to commercial, small business and consumer customers. Its branch network is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, with locations across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where it aims to combine local decision-making with the resources of a larger institution.

The company’s offerings include commercial real estate lending, construction and development financing, equipment and small business loans, and deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts.