Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Purchases Shares of 11,992 Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 11,992 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ZION. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 14.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,041,818 shares of the bank’s stock worth $332,515,000 after buying an additional 896,889 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,882,983 shares of the bank’s stock worth $264,902,000 after purchasing an additional 194,995 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 14,070 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,637,917 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,592,000 after buying an additional 30,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the third quarter valued at $24,647,000. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Compass Point raised their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zions Bancorporation, National Association news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total value of $557,100.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total transaction 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 $1,655,305.11. The trade was a 43.61 % decrease in their position. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of ZION stock opened at $51.28 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 12 month low of $39.05 and a 12 month high of $63.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.80 and a 200-day moving average of $53.55. The firm has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s payout ratio is presently 34.75%.

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