Leeward Investments LLC MA Sells 6,670 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Leeward Investments LLC MA lessened its stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 920,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,670 shares during the period. Columbia Banking System comprises about 1.2% of Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned approximately 0.44% of Columbia Banking System worth $24,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COLB. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 33,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 55,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 13,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Columbia Banking System by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 47,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 10,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COLB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $21.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Columbia Banking System from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Columbia Banking System from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.71 per share, for a total transaction of $51,775.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,315,111.83. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Columbia Banking System news, insider Aaron James Deer bought 2,000 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.32 per share, with a total value of $38,640.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 36,850 shares in the company, valued at $711,942. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ron L. Farnsworth bought 2,500 shares of Columbia Banking System stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.71 per share, with a total value of $51,775.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 160,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,315,111.83. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 35,133 shares of company stock worth $719,737 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 0.6 %

Columbia Banking System stock opened at $19.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.51 and its 200 day moving average is $21.14. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $28.11.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $473.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $480.39 million. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.53%. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is currently 61.80%.

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.