KBC Group NV Boosts Holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,035 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,585 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $184,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 189.7% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 45,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 30,073 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 65,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 171.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 14,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Valley National Bancorp

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total transaction of $510,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at $5,056,492.29. The trade was a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VLY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.67.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $10.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $6.47 and a 1 year high of $11.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $9.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.21.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.14% and a net margin of 10.62%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.77%.

Valley National Bancorp Company 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.