Legal & General Group Plc Invests $14.55 Million in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. $ZION

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 210,338 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $14,553,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the 2nd quarter worth about $982,244,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 4th quarter valued at about $105,700,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $87,961,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. by 1,270.5% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,146,992 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,767,000. Institutional investors own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Scott J. Mclean sold 33,285 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.63, for a total value of $2,350,919.55. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 73,043 shares in the company, valued at $5,159,027.09. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Derek Steward sold 894 shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.65, for a total transaction of $62,267.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,322.85. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 88,787 shares of company stock worth $6,283,858 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ZION shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $82.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.29.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Stock Performance

Shares of Zions Bancorporation, N.A. stock opened at $67.78 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.82. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. has a one year low of $46.19 and a one year high of $73.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.81.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.17. Zions Bancorporation, N.A. had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 23.92%.The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $877.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zions Bancorporation, N.A. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 30th that allows the company to repurchase $75.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to buy up to 0.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, N.A. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Zions Bancorporation, N.A.’s payout ratio is currently 24.46%.

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.