Cerity Partners LLC Sells 9,489 Shares of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,418 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,489 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $1,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association lifted its position in Valley National Bancorp by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 28,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 48,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 12.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Valley National Bancorp by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 283,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares during the period. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VLY has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Valley National Bancorp from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Valley National Bancorp from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $12.50 price objective on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Valley National Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total transaction of $510,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 495,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This trade represents a 9.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of VLY opened at $8.25 on Friday. Valley National Bancorp has a 1-year low of $6.47 and a 1-year high of $11.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.45.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.02). Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 5.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.77%.

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.