114,264 Shares in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) Purchased by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 114,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $910,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 62,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 535,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 104,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 122,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total value of $65,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,582,285.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.57, for a total value of $65,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,582,285.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total value of $127,001.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 224,679 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,521.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VLY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $8.00 price target (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Valley National Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.44.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

VLY traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $8.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,441,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,794,809. Valley National Bancorp has a 52 week low of $6.47 and a 52 week high of $11.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $7.12 and its 200-day moving average is $7.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 1.08.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $890.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 13th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.76%.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.