Maltese Capital Management LLC Sells 136,000 Shares of Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Maltese Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 434,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 136,000 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC owned 0.08% of Valley National Bancorp worth $5,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $103,120,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 1,013.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,831,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217,716 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $71,554,000. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 404.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,867,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,197,000 after buying an additional 4,704,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 260.8% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 5,239,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,197,000 after buying an additional 3,787,203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the company’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 value 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. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total value of $372,991.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 76,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,113,577.08. The trade was a 25.09% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLY has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.13.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

VLY opened at $14.29 on Tuesday. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $8.36 and a 12-month high of $14.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.66. 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 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. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 18.61%.The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.