Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,478,489 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 88,894 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.45% of Valley National Bancorp worth $323,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VLY. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.9% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 107,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 145,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 58,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 16.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.5% in the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 66,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 1,617 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,189.40. The trade was a 142.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. National Bank Financial set a $16.00 target price on Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.40.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $12.47 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $12.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.46. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $7.48 and a twelve month high of $13.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 1.07.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 43.56%.

About Valley National Bancorp

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, offering a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking products and services. Through its banking subsidiary, Valley National Bank, the company provides deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, mortgage services, treasury and cash management, foreign exchange and trade finance solutions. Complementary wealth management and insurance offerings round out its financial services platform, catering to individual, small-business and corporate clients.

Tracing its roots to the establishment of Wayne National Bank in 1927, Valley has grown into one of the largest banks in New Jersey by both assets and deposit share.