First Eagle Investment Management LLC Has $8.84 Million Holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 976,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,500 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $8,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VLY. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $103,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 11.8% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 14,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,041 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup upped their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $12.50 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valley National Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.67.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Up 2.8 %

VLY opened at $8.80 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $6.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.60 and its 200 day moving average is $9.47. 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 (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Research analysts expect that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of Valley National Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total value of $510,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. The trade was a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

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.