Successful Portfolios LLC Takes Position in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Successful Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 163,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,963,000. Valley National Bancorp comprises about 1.0% of Successful Portfolios LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in Valley National Bancorp by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 107,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% in the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 366,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.0% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 59,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.45 per share, with a total value of $33,625.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,189.40. This represents a 142.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $13.06 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $7.64 and a 12 month high of $13.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.78.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 43.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.71.

Valley National Bancorp Profile

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.