Sepio Capital LP Cuts Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Sepio Capital LP lessened its holdings in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 60,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,342,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 4.8 %

COLB stock opened at $20.78 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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 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%. Research analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.69%.

Insider Activity at Columbia Banking System

In other Columbia Banking System news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COLB. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.25.

About Columbia Banking System

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.