Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,258 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,459 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association were worth $3,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,511 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the fourth quarter valued at $2,538,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 7,302 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,698,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,396,000 after acquiring an additional 14,070 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ZION. Stephens raised their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Compass Point raised their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.71.

Insider Transactions at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In other news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total transaction of $557,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. The trade was a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total value of $1,280,344.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,655,305.11. This represents a 43.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Up 0.7 %

ZION opened at $54.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.36. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 12 month low of $38.01 and a 12 month high of $63.22.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $820.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $787.70 million. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 15.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s payout ratio is currently 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Zions Bancorporation, National Association

Zions Bancorporation, National Association provides various banking products and related services primarily in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. It operates through Zions Bank, California Bank & Trust, Amegy Bank, National Bank of Arizona, Nevada State Bank, Vectra Bank Colorado, and The Commerce Bank of Washington segments.