Comerica Bank Trims Stock Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Comerica Bank trimmed its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,631 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.06% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $5,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 123,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 314,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,970,000 after purchasing an additional 45,764 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,522,000 after purchasing an additional 506,778 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 191,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,536,000 after purchasing an additional 63,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $106.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.62.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.44. 446,405 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,217,631. The company has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.30. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $56.70 and a 52-week high of $98.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $71.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $790.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.25 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 13.14%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.85%.

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.