<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in  Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 132,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,096,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.06% of Columbia Banking System at the end of the most recent reporting period.</p><ul><li>4 Dividend Growth Stocks the Trade Tariffs Can’t Touch</li></ul><p>Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Campbell &amp; CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in  Columbia Banking System in the second quarter valued at $2,187,000.  Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of  Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at about $289,000.  AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of  Columbia Banking System in the 2nd quarter valued at about $687,000.  Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of  Columbia Banking System by 27.8% in the second quarter. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter.  Finally, Connor Clark &amp; Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in  Columbia Banking System during the second quarter worth about $303,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  92.53% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Columbia Banking System Trading Down 0.5%</h2><p>Shares of Columbia Banking System stock opened at $28.15 on Wednesday. Columbia Banking System, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.61 and a twelve month high of $30.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.43. </p><p>Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ:COLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $348.47 million during the quarter. Columbia Banking System had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 15.98%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that  Columbia Banking System, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Columbia Banking System Increases Dividend</h2><p>The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. This is an increase from Columbia Banking System's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Columbia Banking System's dividend payout ratio  is currently 66.67%. </p><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><p>A number of brokerages have issued reports on COLB. Weiss Ratings  reissued a &#34;hold (c)&#34; rating on shares of Columbia Banking System in a report on Monday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Columbia Banking System from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a &#34;sector perform&#34; rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Columbia Banking System from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a &#34;neutral&#34; rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods raised shares of Columbia Banking System from a &#34;market perform&#34; rating to an &#34;outperform&#34; rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned  a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and an average target price of $29.38.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Research Report on Columbia Banking System</b></p><h2>Columbia Banking System Company Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Columbia Banking System</li><li>What Investors Must Know About Over-the-Counter (OTC) Stocks</li><li>Consumers Got Coal, But Santa Dropped Off Big Gains for These 2 Retailers</li><li>The Role Economic Reports Play in a Successful Investment Strategy</li><li>10X Gains? These 3 Robotics Stocks Could Explode by 2035</li><li>What is a penny stock? A comprehensive guide</li><li>Anheuser-Busch Buys BeatBox to Win Over Younger Drinkers</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COLB?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9Q09MQg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9Q09MQg"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Columbia Banking System Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Columbia Banking System, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Columbia Banking System wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Columbia Banking System currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

COLB

<p>Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired 132,435 shares of Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) in Q2, valued at $3,096,000. Other institutional investors also made new investments. Columbia Banking System's stock opened at $28.15, with a market cap of $8.42 billion. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the last quarter and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.37. Analysts have given the stock an average rating of 'Hold' with a target price of $29.38.</p>

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Takes Position in Columbia Banking System, Inc. $COLB