Cerity Partners LLC Makes New $1.62 Million Investment in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 149,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,623,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 198.1% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,070 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 8,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 73.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $93,000. Institutional investors own 61.00% of the company's stock.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of VLY traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,523,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,482,049. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.12 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 has a fifty-two week low of $6.39 and a fifty-two week high of $11.22.

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). The business had revenue of $449.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.49 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 14.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. TheStreet cut shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of 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. Three equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.67.

Insider Transactions at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.18, for a total value of $406,668.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 545,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,460,136.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.