Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION Stock Holdings Lessened by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 232,853 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 45,072 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. were worth $13,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ZION. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the third quarter valued at $36,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.53.

Insider Activity at Zions Bancorporation, N.A.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 4,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $263,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Trading Up 1.5%

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock opened at $62.02 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a 12 month low of $46.19 and a 12 month high of $66.18. The stock has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.81.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business had revenue of $859.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $853.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s payout ratio is currently 27.99%.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Saturday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $225.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Company Profile

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is a bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, offering a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Zions Bank, the company provides commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management solutions designed to serve the needs of small businesses, middle?market firms and high?net?worth clients. Its service portfolio includes deposit accounts, cash?management tools, lending products, mortgage origination, treasury services and investment advisory services.

The company’s commercial banking segment delivers custom credit and treasury management services, including working capital lines of credit, equipment financing and international trade finance.