Securian Asset Management Inc. Purchases 2,631 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 35,892 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,631 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth $515,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 5,181 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 332.7% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 163,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 125,695 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,101,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327,829 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 41.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,494,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,539,000 after purchasing an additional 439,831 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total value of $510,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $8.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $6.47 and a 12-month high of $11.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.48.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 5.14%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 63.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.50 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.67.

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.