Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 4,204,651 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,002,161 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,204,651 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.82% of Valley National Bancorp worth $453,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,812 shares of the company's stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 11.8% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,365 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

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Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 10.6 %

VLY traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,075,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,673,352. 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.52. The firm has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 1.11.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.