Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) Shares Sold by Versor Investments LP

Versor Investments LP reduced its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 48.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,927 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 8,500 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,263 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,252 shares of the bank’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,223 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Price Performance

ZION opened at $54.04 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 1 year low of $38.01 and a 1 year high of $63.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total value of $1,280,344.31. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686 over the last three months. 2.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ZION shares. Stephens lifted their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.71.

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.