Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 69.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 105,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 243,940 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Columbia Banking System worth $2,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 221.3% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,947,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $148,342,000 after purchasing an additional 4,096,733 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,948,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $209,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381,597 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 18.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,527,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,796 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 1,773.2% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 767,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,935,000 after acquiring an additional 726,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Columbia Banking System by 528.4% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 742,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,508,000 after acquiring an additional 624,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $28.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.39. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $30.49.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $348.47 million for the quarter. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 11.13%. Research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This is a positive change from Columbia Banking System’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Piper Sandler set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Columbia Banking System from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “hold” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.38.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the holding company of Umpqua Bank that provides banking, private banking, mortgage, and other financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business, non-interest bearing checking, interest-bearing checking and savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and insured cash sweep and other investment sweep solutions.