Principle Wealth Partners LLC Increases Stake in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Columbia Banking System were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COLB. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 54.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 4,553 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 14.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Columbia Banking System by 14.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System Stock Up 2.2 %

COLB stock opened at $27.99 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.08 and a 52 week high of $32.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.66.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.69%.

Columbia Banking System Company 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.