Principle Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 54.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth $208,000. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $27.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.66. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.08 and a 52-week high of $32.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.16.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.14%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 56.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on COLB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group assumed 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 for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.38.

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.