HighTower Advisors LLC Has $3.65 Million Holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,308 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association were worth $3,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 896,889 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 4.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 14,070 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.2% in 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 bought a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in the third quarter valued at $24,647,000. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,655,305.11. This trade represents a 43.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $557,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. This trade represents a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686. Insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Up 0.6 %

ZION stock opened at $49.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 52 week low of $39.05 and a 52 week high of $63.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.51.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZION has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.18.

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.