American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 22,367 Shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 534,647 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,367 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association were worth $29,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZION. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 896,889 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,961,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the third quarter valued at approximately $24,647,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 194,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Zions Bancorporation, National Association during the 4th quarter valued at $7,739,000. 76.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jennifer Anne Smith sold 22,673 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 43.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Dan Stephens sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.71, for a total transaction of $557,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,136.37. The trade was a 17.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,713 shares of company stock worth $1,839,686 over the last 90 days. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZION has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $62.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued 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 given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.94.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Trading Down 1.6 %

Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock opened at $49.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.70. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 12 month low of $39.05 and a 12 month high of $63.22.

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

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 0.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Zions Bancorporation, National Association’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.75%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association 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.