Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) by 88.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 229,948 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 108,087 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Zions Bancorporation, National Association worth $12,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ZION. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,037,323 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,032,775,000 after buying an additional 285,588 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 14.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,041,818 shares of the bank's stock valued at $332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 896,889 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,882,983 shares of the bank's stock valued at $264,902,000 after purchasing an additional 194,995 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,698,530 shares of the bank's stock worth $146,396,000 after purchasing an additional 14,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,637,917 shares of the bank's stock valued at $124,592,000 after purchasing an additional 30,030 shares in the last quarter. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available 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 value of $1,280,344.31. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,713 shares of company stock valued at $1,839,686 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company's stock.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ ZION traded up $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.86. The company had a trading volume of 211,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,540,661. The company's fifty day moving average is $53.30 and its 200-day moving average is $53.82. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a one year low of $39.05 and a one year high of $63.22.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $820.00 million during 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ZION shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. DA Davidson increased 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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. One equities research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.94.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association 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.