Commerce Bank Acquires New Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Commerce Bank bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 21,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $691,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COLB. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 35.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 56,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 14,824 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after buying an additional 15,845 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 572.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 484,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,089,000 after acquiring an additional 412,674 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 28.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 492,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,290,000 after acquiring an additional 108,994 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 887,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,128,000 after purchasing an additional 16,165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $30.71 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.05. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $23.83 and a one year high of $33.67. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.40 million. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 11.33%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.03 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, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Columbia Banking System news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total transaction of $115,269.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 18,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $554,793.72. The trade was a 17.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COLB. Weiss Ratings upgraded Columbia Banking System from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.35.

About Columbia Banking System

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.