Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,299,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 282,805 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 3.48% of Columbia Banking System worth $198,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Columbia Banking System by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Columbia Banking System during the third quarter valued at $288,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Columbia Banking System by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Columbia Banking System during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,365,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Columbia Banking System Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COLB opened at $29.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.64. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.08 and a fifty-two week high of $32.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.94.

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.07. Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 10.13%. The firm had revenue of $765.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $478.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Columbia Banking System’s payout ratio is 62.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on COLB shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Columbia Banking System from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Columbia Banking System currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.19.

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.