Blair William & Co. IL Trims Stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 18.8%, now owning 42,426 shares worth $3.26 million after selling 9,838 shares in Q1.
• Multiple institutional investors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of Montreal Can, have increased their holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation, indicating strong institutional interest with 79.15% of the stock owned by such investors.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation reported earnings of $2.07 per share, beating analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, reflecting a 1.9% dividend yield.

Blair William & Co. IL lessened its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,838 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $3,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,403,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter worth $576,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter worth $710,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.8% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 12,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 18.8% in the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 48,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 24,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,077,527.69. This represents a 9.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on 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 boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.62.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock traded up $3.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.24. The company had a trading volume of 317,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,111,732. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $57.05 and a 12-month high of $98.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.51. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.33.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.58 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 16.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

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.