Prudential Financial Inc. Grows Stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 80.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 536,633 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 238,890 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.11% of Valley National Bancorp worth $4,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLY. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 180,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 43,364 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 105.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 16,529 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position 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 valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $543,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VLY shares. Piper Sandler upgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays raised their price objective 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 upped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $12.50 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of VLY stock opened at $8.89 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.11. Valley National Bancorp has a one year low of $6.47 and a one year high of $11.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.55 and its 200 day moving average is $9.53.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last issued 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.95%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 63.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.