American International Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

American International Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 787,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,507 shares during the period. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $8,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VLY. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 111.5% during the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 70,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 37,331 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $1,301,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 107.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,443,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,037,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301,128 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $1,623,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,294,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,361,000 after acquiring an additional 259,796 shares during the last quarter. 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 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total value of $65,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at $3,582,285.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total transaction of $65,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at $3,582,285.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total value of $127,001.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 224,679 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,521.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,451 shares of company stock worth $378,452. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $6.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.54. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $6.47 and a twelve month high of $11.22.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $890.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays began coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Valley National Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.89.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.