AlphaMark Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

AlphaMark Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 6.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,984 shares during the quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valley National Bancorp were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Valley National Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $136,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $137,000. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valley National Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $154,000. 61.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valley National Bancorp Stock Down 1.3 %

VLY traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $6.89. The company had a trading volume of 4,436,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,796,479. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.21 and a 200-day moving average of $8.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Valley National Bancorp has a 1-year low of $6.47 and a 1-year high of $11.22.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $890.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.38 million. Valley National Bancorp had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 7.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.39%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valley National Bancorp news, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $127,001.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 224,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,734,521.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.43, for a total value of $185,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,300. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrew B. Abramson sold 16,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.72, for a total transaction of $127,001.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 224,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,734,521.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,451 shares of company stock valued at $378,452. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VLY has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $8.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Valley National Bancorp from $11.00 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.67.

Valley National Bancorp 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.