Bank of America Corp DE Raises Position in Valley National Bancorp $VLY

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Valley National Bancorp stake by 8% in the first quarter, adding 290,534 shares to own 3.92 million shares valued at approximately $48.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 61% of VLY.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.03, above the stock’s reported opening price of $14.93.
• Valley National reported quarterly revenue of $560.7 million, up 13.3% year over year, though earnings per share of $0.30 narrowly missed estimates. The bank also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, representing a 2.9% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,919,652 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 290,534 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.71% of Valley National Bancorp worth $48,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 123.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 3,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.03.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $14.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Valley National Bancorp has a 12 month low of $9.64 and a 12 month high of $15.20. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $14.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.48.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 19.49%.The business had revenue of $560.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $557.16 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mitchell L. Crandell sold 25,495 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.63, for a total transaction of $372,991.85. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 76,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,113,577.08. This trade represents a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.06% of the company's stock.

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.

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