WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 22,964 Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 22,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VLY. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $276,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 179.4% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 34,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 22,120 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 37,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 8,514 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 35,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. 54.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valley National Bancorp

In related news, Director Marc J. Lenner acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.93 per share, with a total value of $54,650.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 93,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,023,813.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Valley National Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $13.17.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ VLY opened at $9.52 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a 1 year low of $8.86 and a 1 year high of $13.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). Valley National Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 26.05%. The firm had revenue of $518.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $529.56 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.94%.

Valley National Bancorp Company Profile

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Valley National Bancorp is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Lending, Commercial Lending, Investment Management, and Corporate and Other Adjustments. The Consumer Lending segment consists of residential mortgage loans, automobile loans and home equity loans, as well as wealth management and insurance services.