Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,677,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,378 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $820,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,968,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $498,612,000 after purchasing an additional 154,575 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $298,887,000 after buying an additional 22,942 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,341,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,616,000 after buying an additional 445,176 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,909,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,668,000 after acquiring an additional 25,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,814,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,604,000 after acquiring an additional 648,983 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 6.7%

NYSE:WAL opened at $82.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.33. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $57.05 and a 52 week high of $98.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.75 and a 200 day moving average of $77.54.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.58 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 12.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 19.97%.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $209,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 24,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.62.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

Western Alliance Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for Western Alliance Bank that provides various banking products and related services primarily in Arizona, California, and Nevada. It operates through Commercial and Consumer Related segments. The company offers deposit products, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as fixed-rate and fixed maturity certificates of deposit accounts; demand deposits; and treasury management and residential mortgage products and services.