Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys Shares of 30,491 Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 30,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,575,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,625,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,492,000 after purchasing an additional 198,236 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,814,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 fourth quarter worth $1,086,000. Finally, Gibson Capital LLC purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $365,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.43, for a total value of $185,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,300. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.43, for a total value of $185,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,300. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $127,001.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 90 days, insiders have sold 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ VLY opened at $6.89 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 1.08. Valley National Bancorp has a 52-week low of $6.47 and a 52-week high of $11.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.33.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 7.74%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on VLY shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. StockNews.com raised Valley National Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $8.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, May 31st. 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, Valley National Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.67.

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.