Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,089,896 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 96,866 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Valley National Bancorp worth $9,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,809 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 557.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 7,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of VLY traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $9.60. The stock had a trading volume of 10,436,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,721,377. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.47 and a 52-week high of $11.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.12. The business's fifty day moving average is $9.64 and its 200 day moving average is $9.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VLY. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $12.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.67.

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.