Russell Barrett Sells 90,537 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Stock

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $868,821.18. This represents a 58.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of VLY stock opened at $13.31 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $12.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.03. The stock has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.03. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $8.36 and a 1 year high of $14.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $540.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.89 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 18.61%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. National Bank Financial set a $17.00 price target on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $16.00 price target (up from $15.50) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valley National Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Horizon Corp grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 77.4% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 127.3% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

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.