Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $9.87 Million Holdings in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,089,896 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,866 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Valley National Bancorp worth $9,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Valley National Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $515,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 5,181 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 332.7% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 163,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 125,695 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Valley National Bancorp by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,494,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,539,000 after purchasing an additional 439,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Valley National Bancorp by 66.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 217,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 86,473 shares in the last quarter. 61.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph Chillura sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.21, for a total value of $510,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 495,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,056,492.29. This represents a 9.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Valley National Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VLY opened at $9.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.42. Valley National Bancorp has a twelve month low of $6.47 and a twelve month high of $11.10. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Valley National Bancorp will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Valley National Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. Valley National Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target 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. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Valley National Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $12.50 price target on shares of Valley National Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.67.

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.