Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $5.23 Million Holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 577,295 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 57,684 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.11% of Valley National Bancorp worth $5,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 384.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,970,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,276,000 after purchasing an additional 7,118,044 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 1,501.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,676,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,431,000 after purchasing an additional 5,322,278 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $19,399,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 416.7% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 852,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,727,000 after purchasing an additional 687,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,374,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.96. 4,694,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,971,884. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.12. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $9.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.30. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $6.47 and a 12 month high of $11.10.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm earned $0.22 EPS. Analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VLY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on 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, Citigroup lifted their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of Valley National Bancorp 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 495,249 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.