Insider Selling: Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) COO Sells 90,537 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares on April 27 at an average price of $13.54 for about $1.226M, reducing his direct stake by 58.52% to 64,167 shares; the transaction was disclosed in an SEC Form 4 filing.
• Valley National recently beat quarterly expectations with $0.29 EPS (vs. $0.27 consensus) and $540.36M revenue, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.11 (annualized $0.44) for a ~3.2% yield and a ~39.6% payout ratio.
• The stock traded around $13.62 (up 0.6%) with a $7.56B market cap, P/E of 12.27 and a 52-week range of $8.36–$14.12; analysts’ consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with a $15.17 target and several recent price-target upgrades.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) COO Russell Barrett sold 90,537 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $1,225,870.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,167 shares in the company, valued at $868,821.18. The trade was a 58.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 0.6%

Valley National Bancorp stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.62. 4,678,829 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,028,549. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.03. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $8.36 and a fifty-two week high of $14.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.99.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 18.61%.The firm had revenue of $540.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VLY. Barclays lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $16.00 price target (up from $15.50) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.17.

Institutional Trading of Valley National Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. First Horizon Corp increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 52.5% in the fourth 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. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 77.4% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 127.3% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company's stock.

About Valley National Bancorp

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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