Royal Bank of Canada Sells 18,418 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,418 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.17% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $13,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 86.0% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total value of $481,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,285. This trade represents a 63.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stephens set a $95.00 price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.82.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL opened at $81.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.34 and a 200-day moving average of $80.77. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $65.82 and a one year high of $97.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.20% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The company had revenue of $995.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.92%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.