Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Reduces Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC cut its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,509,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,779 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned approximately 0.72% of Columbia Banking System worth $40,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COLB. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System by 22,244.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 6,006 shares during the period. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of COLB opened at $25.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.79 and its 200 day moving average is $27.48. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS 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, research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COLB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.