Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Shares in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 17,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 62.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 171.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 22,244.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 6,006 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COLB. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.25.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In related news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total transaction of $116,461.19. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COLB opened at $25.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.49.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.69%.

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.