Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Invests $651,000 in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 11,992 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZION. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,511 shares of the bank’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,263 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Zions Bancorporation, National Association

In related news, 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 transaction of $557,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,554,136.37. This trade represents a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.47, for a total value of $1,280,344.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,655,305.11. The trade was a 43.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,713 shares of company stock valued at $1,839,686. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZION opened at $51.28 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a fifty-two week low of $39.05 and a fifty-two week high of $63.22.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZION. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on 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 began coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.71.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Company 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.