William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $47.93 Million Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,774,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,527 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.85% of Columbia Banking System worth $47,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 122,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,303,000 after purchasing an additional 4,408 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $288,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 82.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 391,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,592,000 after purchasing an additional 176,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 716,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,712,000 after purchasing an additional 97,498 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Columbia Banking System Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COLB opened at $24.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.62. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.08 and a 12-month high of $32.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.47.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. On average, equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.81%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This trade represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.25.

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.