Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys 395,355 Shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 4,089.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 405,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 395,355 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $10,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after buying an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 122,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,303,000 after buying an additional 4,408 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 385.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 119,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after buying an additional 94,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 31,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 2.4%

COLB opened at $24.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.37. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.11 and a twelve month high of $32.85.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 17.99% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The firm had revenue of $481.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $482.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.96%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Torran B. Nixon sold 4,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.99, for a total value of $116,461.19. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COLB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James set a $27.00 target price on shares of Columbia Banking System and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.64.

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.