Aquatic Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,999 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,427,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COLM. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 184.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Columbia Sportswear by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 915 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Columbia Sportswear by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 942 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. 47.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ronald E. Nelson sold 6,395 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $522,727.30. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,393,503.52. This trade represents a 27.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richelle T. Luther sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.36, for a total value of $369,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,319,177.88. The trade was a 21.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 44.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Columbia Sportswear Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COLM opened at $62.74 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.07. Columbia Sportswear has a 1 year low of $59.07 and a 1 year high of $92.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91.

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The textile maker reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Columbia Sportswear will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COLM shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Columbia Sportswear from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Columbia Sportswear from $100.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Columbia Sportswear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Columbia Sportswear in a research report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

Columbia Sportswear Company 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.