New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,258 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,459 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association were worth $3,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 5.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,538,000. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 12.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ZION shares. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total transaction of $557,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. This represents a 17.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,280,344.31. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,655,305.11. The trade was a 43.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ: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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $55.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.36. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 1 year low of $38.01 and a 1 year high of $63.22.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.08. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The company had revenue of $820.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $787.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Company Profile

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.