Larson Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 22,244.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,006 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,659,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $173,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611,563 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,593,000. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 1,001.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 962,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,126,000 after purchasing an additional 874,986 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,476,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Columbia Banking System by 33.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,263,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,099,000 after purchasing an additional 562,467 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Columbia Banking System

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 104,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,545.31. This represents a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group started coverage on Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Stephens lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of COLB stock opened at $23.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.20 and its 200 day moving average is $27.49. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 17.99%. Equities research analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.03%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.