Pzena Investment Management LLC Purchases New Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,129,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $68,245,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.75% of Columbia Banking System as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 571.7% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 194.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 168.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on COLB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Stephens increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fundamental Research set a $35.00 target price on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.35.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other news, CMO Devine David Moore sold 3,872 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.77, for a total value 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 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. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

COLB opened at $32.34 on Tuesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a one year low of $23.83 and a one year high of $33.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.63.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 19.96% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The business had revenue of $677.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.