Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION Stake Lowered by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. cut its stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) by 93.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 205,264 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,759,155 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. were worth $11,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ZION. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,420,688 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $434,407,000 after purchasing an additional 77,612 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,888,064 shares of the bank’s stock worth $227,607,000 after purchasing an additional 48,346 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,151,319 shares of the bank’s stock worth $184,478,000 after purchasing an additional 306,717 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,963,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $167,677,000 after purchasing an additional 711,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,963,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $173,501,000 after purchasing an additional 30,881 shares in the last quarter. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock opened at $67.12 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.25. The company has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a 1 year low of $46.19 and a 1 year high of $67.99.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 20th. The bank reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $859.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $853.73 million. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a net margin of 19.53% and a return on equity of 13.90%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s payout ratio is presently 27.99%.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Saturday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $225.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ZION. Brean Capital assumed coverage on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stephens started coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in a research report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $79.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 4,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $263,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Company Profile

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is a bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, offering a full suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Zions Bank, the company provides commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management solutions designed to serve the needs of small businesses, middle‐market firms and high‐net‐worth clients. Its service portfolio includes deposit accounts, cash‐management tools, lending products, mortgage origination, treasury services and investment advisory services.

The company’s commercial banking segment delivers custom credit and treasury management services, including working capital lines of credit, equipment financing and international trade finance.