Valley National Bancorp $VLY Position Cut by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management cut its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 93% in the fourth quarter, selling 943,491 shares and leaving it with 71,235 shares worth about $832,000.
• Valley National Bancorp reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, posting EPS of $0.29 versus the $0.27 estimate and revenue of $1.01 billion, well above forecasts.
• The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.2%, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $15.13.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 93.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 71,235 shares of the company's stock after selling 943,491 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 99.3% in the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 258,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,735,000 after buying an additional 128,563 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $2,714,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $4,753,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 6.3% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,522,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,136,000 after buying an additional 90,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 142.4% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 978,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,374,000 after buying an additional 574,968 shares during the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ VLY opened at $13.77 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $13.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 1.04. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $8.36 and a 1 year high of $14.12.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.89 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 18.61%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 39.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VLY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.13.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $868,821.18. The trade was a 58.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.