Great week for Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) institutional investors after losing 5.6% over the previous year

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Valley National Bancorp's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 7 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

A look at the shareholders of Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ:VLY) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 75% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Institutional investors would appreciate the 4.5% increase in share price last week, given their one-year losses have totalled a disappointing 5.6%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Valley National Bancorp.

See our latest analysis for Valley National Bancorp

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Valley National Bancorp?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Valley National Bancorp does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Valley National Bancorp, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Valley National Bancorp. Our data shows that Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM, Asset Management Arm is the largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 13% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 9.0% of the company stock.

We also observed that the top 7 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Valley National Bancorp

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Valley National Bancorp. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own US$56m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 23% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Valley National Bancorp. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Valley National Bancorp better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Valley National Bancorp has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.