Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 81,344 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,838 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,344 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $1,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 90.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,059,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,558,000 after acquiring an additional 8,088,466 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Valley National Bancorp by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,002,161 shares of the company's stock worth $453,020,000 after purchasing an additional 4,204,651 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $31,490,000. Burkehill Global Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,838,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,101,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,278,000 after buying an additional 1,327,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 0.4 %

VLY stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.25. 6,777,023 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,092,231. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $8.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.44. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $6.47 and a 52 week high of $11.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 5.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.33%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total transaction of $510,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This represents a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.