Highlander Capital Management LLC Sells 353,000 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Highlander Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 93.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,862 shares of the company's stock after selling 353,000 shares during the quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC's holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Valley National Bancorp by 986.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 19,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 17,995 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $276,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 30,022 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 79.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 64,112 shares of the company's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 28,321 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $193,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Valley National Bancorp news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total value of $406,668.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,460,136.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VLY traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.51. 2,891,885 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,548,914. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $6.39 and a 1 year high of $11.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.03). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 14.82% and a return on equity of 8.67%. The company had revenue of $449.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $467.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.97 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.86%. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.32%.

Valley National Bancorp Profile

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.