KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 30,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZION. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 896,889 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,961,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the third quarter valued at about $24,647,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $264,902,000 after buying an additional 194,995 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,739,000. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ZION. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. Compass Point raised their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their target price 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One 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 MarketBeat.com, Zions Bancorporation, National Association presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.94.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Price Performance

NASDAQ ZION opened at $49.47 on Friday. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a one year low of $39.05 and a one year high of $63.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.66 and a 200 day moving average of $53.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.75%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,655,305.11. The trade was a 43.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. This represents a 17.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,713 shares of company stock valued at $1,839,686 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

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.