Bleakley Financial Group LLC Invests $137,000 in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLY. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 153,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 44,385 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 60.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 299,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,258,000 after purchasing an additional 113,527 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 3,569 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 986.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 19,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 17,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $276,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLY has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TheStreet cut Valley National Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.67.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $7.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.94 and a 200 day moving average of $8.85. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $6.39 and a 12 month high of $11.22.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $449.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.49 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 8.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.11%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 46.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total value of $406,668.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 545,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,460,136.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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.