Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 60.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 299,963 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 113,527 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Valley National Bancorp worth $3,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 153.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,869,091 shares of the company's stock worth $115,476,000 after buying an additional 5,374,624 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2,232.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,936,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,836,000 after purchasing an additional 4,725,214 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,062,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,116,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,346,000 after purchasing an additional 3,008,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 92.6% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,415,523 shares of the company's stock worth $34,220,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,297 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total transaction of $406,668.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 545,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,460,136.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.67.

Valley National Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of VLY traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $7.31. 4,098,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,108,513. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $6.39 and a fifty-two week high of $11.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.92 and a 200-day moving average of $8.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $449.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $467.49 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. Valley National Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 46.32%.

About Valley National Bancorp

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.