Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 5,792 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,386 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,792 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,427,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,856,000 after buying an additional 356,880 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,025,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,499,000 after buying an additional 920,140 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,034,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,660,000 after buying an additional 282,188 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,932,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,220,000 after purchasing an additional 111,771 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 107.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,443,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,037,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301,128 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VLY. StockNews.com downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on 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. Barclays began coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.33.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

VLY stock opened at $7.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $6.39 and a 1 year high of $11.22.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total transaction of $406,668.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,460,136.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Profile

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.