Norges Bank Takes $31.49 Million Position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,475,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,490,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.68% of Valley National Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 105.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,146 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 16,529 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 11.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,365 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 14.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 103,074 shares of the company's stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 12,669 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 9.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 52,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 4,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $169,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Valley National Bancorp stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,164,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,136,651. The firm's fifty day moving average is $9.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.48. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 1.06. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.47 and a 52-week high of $11.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is 63.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on VLY shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $12.50 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the company'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 value of $510,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at $5,056,492.29. This represents a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.