Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,211,531 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 534,846 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.22% of Valley National Bancorp worth $56,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 557.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 7,358 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.67.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $8.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.11. Valley National Bancorp has a 1-year low of $6.47 and a 1-year high of $11.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $9.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.62%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 63.77%.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total transaction of $510,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp operates as the holding company for Valley National Bank that provides various commercial, private banking, retail, insurance, and wealth management financial services products. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Treasury and Corporate other segments.