119,800 Shares in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 119,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $136,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $1,623,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $460,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 986.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 19,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 17,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VLY shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total transaction of $406,668.70. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

VLY stock opened at $7.71 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.84. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $6.39 and a 12 month high of $11.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 1.09.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.03). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $449.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.71%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.32%.

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.