Valley National Bancorp $VLY Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies trimmed its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY) by 1.6% in Q3, selling 99,016 shares and holding 6,140,160 shares (about 1.10% ownership) valued at roughly $65.09 million.
• Director Carlos J. Vazquez purchased 2,500 VLY shares at $13.45 on Feb. 17, raising his position to 4,252 shares (a 142.69% increase); company insiders own 1.43% of the stock.
• Valley declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 (annualized $0.44, ~3.5% yield), and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and a $14.40 price target after multiple upgrades.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,140,160 shares of the company's stock after selling 99,016 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.10% of Valley National Bancorp worth $65,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VLY. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 90.9% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 164,887 shares of the company's stock worth $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 78,500 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 111.0% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 34,061 shares of the company's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 17,920 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 142.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 978,713 shares of the company's stock worth $10,374,000 after buying an additional 574,968 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP lifted its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 35.7% during the third quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 79,613 shares of the company's stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 20,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $10,756,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Carlos J. Vazquez acquired 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.45 per share, for a total transaction of $33,625.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,252 shares in the company, valued at $57,189.40. This represents a 142.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Valley National Bancorp stock opened at $12.58 on Thursday. Valley National Bancorp has a 12-month low of $7.48 and a 12-month high of $13.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $524.31 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 17.11%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is 43.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VLY. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group began coverage on Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $14.40.

Valley National Bancorp Company 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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