Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,500,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 136,835 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.51% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $910,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth $26,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 113.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL opened at $93.28 on Monday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $57.05 and a 12-month high of $97.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.19. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.33% and a net margin of 18.04%.The company had revenue of $980.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $912.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 19.24%.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.