Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB Shares Purchased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 37.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 411,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,445 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $10,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,016,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,816,000 after buying an additional 1,067,491 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at $253,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 36.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 70,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 18,778 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 47.0% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 34,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 11,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 3rd quarter worth about $268,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COLB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.50 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.04.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 7.0%

COLB opened at $28.45 on Monday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.61 and a twelve month high of $32.70. The firm has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.74.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $715.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $693.23 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 11.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, Director Steven R. Gardner sold 13,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.