Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,989,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 218,523 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 2.53% of Columbia Banking System worth $64,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Columbia Banking System in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, FourThought Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Columbia Banking System by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. FourThought Financial LLC now owns 3,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James cut their target price on Columbia Banking System from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.80.

Columbia Banking System Trading Down 1.7 %

Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.02). Columbia Banking System had a net margin of 31.28% and a return on equity of 9.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Columbia Banking System Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. Columbia Banking System's payout ratio is currently 43.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Craig D. Eerkes acquired 1,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $48,312.88. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,227 shares in the company, valued at $576,874.04. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 2,713 shares of company stock worth $74,593 in the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Columbia Banking System Company Profile

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Columbia Banking System, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Columbia State Bank that provides a range of banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It offers personal banking products and services, including noninterest and interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; home mortgages for purchases and refinances, home equity loans and lines of credit, and other personal loans; debit and credit cards; and digital banking services.

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