Ovata Capital Management Ltd Makes New $5.44 Million Investment in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Ovata Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 600,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,436,000. Valley National Bancorp comprises about 2.1% of Ovata Capital Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ovata Capital Management Ltd owned approximately 0.12% of Valley National Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $31,490,000. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 66,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 8,032 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,600 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 5,181 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,101,280 shares of the company's stock worth $55,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 41.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,494,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,539,000 after buying an additional 439,831 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total value of $510,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This represents a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VLY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.67.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 8.5 %

Shares of VLY stock traded down $0.73 on Thursday, hitting $7.85. 4,505,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,946,621. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $6.47 and a twelve month high of $11.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.06. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $9.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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 net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 5.14%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.77%.

Valley National Bancorp Company 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.