Legal & General Group Plc Has $17.56 Million Position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 323,612 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,802 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.22% of Zions Bancorporation, National Association worth $17,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 949,575 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,514,000 after acquiring an additional 85,009 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC now owns 21,701 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,177,000 after buying an additional 4,511 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 116,191 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,303,000 after buying an additional 49,121 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Institutional investors own 76.84% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ZION. DA Davidson lifted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on 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. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.81.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ ZION traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.28. 1,796,599 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,584,045. The company's fifty day moving average is $49.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.36. 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 fifty-two week low of $39.05 and a fifty-two week high of $63.22. The stock has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.92.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $787.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total value of $557,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. This trade represents a 17.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 33,029 shares of company stock valued at $1,855,321 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.22% of the company's stock.

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.