World Investment Advisors Raises Position in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

World Investment Advisors grew its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 195.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 82,417 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,562 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VLY. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. First Horizon Corp increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% during 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 last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 244.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VLY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price (up from $14.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.13.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:VLY opened at $14.09 on Monday. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $8.54 and a twelve month high of $14.72. The company has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valley National Bancorp news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares in the company, valued at $1,113,577.08. This trade represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of Valley National Bancorp 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This trade represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.