Leeward Investments LLC MA Decreases Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Leeward Investments LLC MA reduced its position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,008,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75,159 shares during the period. Columbia Banking System comprises approximately 1.4% of Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned approximately 0.48% of Columbia Banking System worth $27,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 171.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 1,507.6% during the 3rd 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 raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 14.0% during the 3rd 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. raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 14.9% during the 4th 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. purchased a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. 92.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COLB shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Columbia Banking System from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Columbia Banking System in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Columbia Banking System presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.38.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $26.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.63 and a 200 day moving average of $27.29. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Columbia Banking System’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.