Norges Bank Buys Shares of 6,126,225 Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 6,126,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,554,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 77.4% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 244.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VLY shares. National Bank Financial set a $17.00 price objective on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 64,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $868,821.18. The trade was a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $13.78 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $8.36 and a 12 month high of $14.12. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

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

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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