Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 47,031 Shares of Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) by 48.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 143,831 shares of the textile maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,031 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Columbia Sportswear were worth $12,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 184.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 600 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 942 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Columbia Sportswear by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Columbia Sportswear during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. 47.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Columbia Sportswear Stock Performance

Shares of COLM stock opened at $78.09 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.86. Columbia Sportswear has a 52-week low of $73.04 and a 52-week high of $92.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.90.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The textile maker reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.06). Columbia Sportswear had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 12.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Columbia Sportswear Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Columbia Sportswear’s payout ratio is currently 31.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COLM. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Columbia Sportswear from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Columbia Sportswear from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Columbia Sportswear

In other news, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total value of $369,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,319,177.88. This represents a 21.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $522,727.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,393,503.52. This represents a 27.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Sportswear Profile

Columbia Sportswear Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and distributes outdoor, active, and everyday lifestyle apparel, footwear, accessories, and equipment in the United States, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada. The company provides apparel, accessories, and equipment for hiking, trail running, snow, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, trail, and outdoor activities.