Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 247,651 Shares of Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,029,085 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 247,651 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $152,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Corp increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,996 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VLY. National Bank Financial set a $17.00 target price on Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price (up from $14.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.13.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $13.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.17 and its 200 day moving average is $12.50. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $8.36 and a fifty-two week high of $14.12.

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

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $868,821.18. The trade was a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.