Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 76.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,043,498 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,400,045 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $11,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,814,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,561,000 after purchasing an additional 160,854 shares during the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $1,086,000. Gibson Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $365,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $350,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 50.2% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 811,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,810,000 after acquiring an additional 271,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $8.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.78.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total value of $65,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,734,521.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $65,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,582,285.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

VLY opened at $6.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.26 and a 200-day moving average of $8.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.10. Valley National Bancorp has a 1-year low of $6.47 and a 1-year high of $11.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 51.76%.

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.