Leeward Investments LLC MA Purchases 309,091 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Leeward Investments LLC MA grew its holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Free Report) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,877,622 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 309,091 shares during the quarter. Valley National Bancorp makes up approximately 1.0% of Leeward Investments LLC MA's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned 0.37% of Valley National Bancorp worth $20,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $93,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $93,000. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $130,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 49,715 shares of Valley National Bancorp 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 5.8 %

VLY stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.32. 7,044,627 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,396,979. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $6.39 and a twelve month high of $11.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.82.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $890.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.74% and a net margin of 12.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Valley National Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VLY shares. Citigroup decreased 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 report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Valley National Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.33.

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.