JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Position in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 868,747 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,961 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.16% of Valley National Bancorp worth $9,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 77.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 244.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial raised Valley National Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.64.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. This trade represents a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $11.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.66. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $7.48 and a 12 month high of $13.87.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.56%.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, offering a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking products and services. Through its banking subsidiary, Valley National Bank, the company provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, mortgage services, treasury and cash management, foreign exchange and trade finance solutions. Complementary wealth management and insurance offerings round out its financial services platform, catering to individual, small-business and corporate clients.

Tracing its roots to the establishment of Wayne National Bank in 1927, Valley has grown into one of the largest banks in New Jersey by both assets and deposit share.