Ariel Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC reduced its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.2%, selling 16,413 shares, now holding 503,607 shares valued at approximately $38.69 million.
• Insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares at an average price of $83.91, reflecting a 9.17% decrease in his ownership.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation announced a dividend of $0.38 per share, representing a 1.7% yield, with a payout ratio of 19.97%.

Ariel Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 503,607 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,413 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC owned 0.46% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $38,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,076,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,821,000 after purchasing an additional 339,758 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,604,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $276,954,000 after purchasing an additional 26,995 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 445,176 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,909,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $146,668,000 after buying an additional 25,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,814,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $151,604,000 after buying an additional 648,983 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $89.11. 346,361 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,096,302. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.16. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $57.05 and a 52-week high of $98.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.79.

Insider Transactions at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total transaction of $209,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 24,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,077,527.69. The trade was a 9.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.