Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $780,000 in Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,637 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $780,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ZION. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 158,900.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the bank's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 1.6% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 34,045 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 5,690.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 550,903 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,468,000 after purchasing an additional 541,389 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 63.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,804 shares of the bank's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Zions Bancorporation, National Association by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,935 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712 shares during the period. 76.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZION has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $58.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Zions Bancorporation, National Association from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $71.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.94.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Zions Bancorporation, National Association stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $48.72. The company had a trading volume of 987,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,767. Zions Bancorporation, National Association has a 52-week low of $39.32 and a 52-week high of $63.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.20 and a 200 day moving average of $51.70.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $795.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.49 million. Zions Bancorporation, National Association had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 15.70%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Zions Bancorporation, National Association will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Zions Bancorporation, National Association's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.59%.

Zions Bancorporation, National Association announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 0.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.