Sei Investments Co. Increases Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,089,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,509 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.52% of Columbia Banking System worth $29,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 384.5% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 64,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 51,212 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 16,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 4,346 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,614,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,166,000 after acquiring an additional 53,847 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 439.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 79,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 65,072 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in Columbia Banking System by 17.1% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 52,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 7,704 shares during the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 transaction of $116,461.19. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ COLB opened at $25.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.49. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid 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 5.63%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COLB has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.25.

Columbia Banking System 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.