Valley National Bancorp $VLY Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 90.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 164,887 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 78,500 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $1,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VLY. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 107,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 145,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.7% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 58,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 16.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.5% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 66,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 1,617 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on VLY shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. National Bank Financial set a $16.00 price target on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.40.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.43% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $12.58 on Thursday. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $7.48 and a 52 week high of $13.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.46.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $524.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.56%.

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.