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

Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,892 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,631 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VLY. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 36.7% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 40,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 10,785 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 26.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 14,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 3,041 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $1,448,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 44.7% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 231,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,098,000 after buying an additional 71,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 332.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 163,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after buying an additional 125,695 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 0.5 %

Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $8.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 1.11. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $6.47 and a twelve month high of $11.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.59 and a 200-day moving average of $9.48.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Valley National Bancorp’s payout ratio is 63.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $12.50 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.67.

Valley National Bancorp 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.