Maltese Capital Management LLC Sells 60,500 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Maltese Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 245,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 60,500 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $6,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COLB. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 194.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 168.8% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Columbia Banking System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.13.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value of $115,269.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $554,793.72. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of COLB opened at $30.95 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.02. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $32.70. The stock has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.34 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.41% and a net margin of 19.28%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 58.96%.

Columbia Banking System 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.