Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Shares Acquired by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 176,814 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,549 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $1,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLY. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 363.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 192,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 151,355 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $93,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 94,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 15,726 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 36,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $130,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $7.59 on Thursday. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $6.39 and a 12-month high of $11.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.10.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $890.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VLY. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.33.

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.