HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 140.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 76,493 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 44,662 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 1.9 %

VLY stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.06. The company had a trading volume of 9,259,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,646,216. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $6.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.10. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.52.

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Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 63.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total transaction of $510,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at $5,056,492.29. The trade was a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VLY shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $12.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.78.

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.