Arizona State Retirement System Has $2.32 Million Position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,839 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association were worth $2,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,511 shares of the bank’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,263 shares of the bank’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 76.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZION has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price target on 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total transaction of $1,280,344.31. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,655,305.11. This represents a 43.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $2,554,136.37. This represents a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,713 shares of company stock valued at $1,839,686 over the last 90 days. 2.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZION opened at $47.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, 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 1-year low of $39.05 and a 1-year high of $63.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.39 and its 200-day moving average is $53.63.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) last announced its 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 analyst estimates of $787.70 million. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 15.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.