Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Stock Holdings in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 739,945 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58,220 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $8,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $103,120,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,197,000 after buying an additional 4,704,971 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $34,593,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 252.9% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 3,910,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,671,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $27,607,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VLY shares. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. National Bank Financial set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.13.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ VLY opened at $13.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $8.36 and a one year high of $14.12. The firm has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 1.03.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $531.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

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.