Congress Asset Management Co. Purchases 16,604 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) by 9.7% during Q2, acquiring an additional 16,604 shares, resulting in ownership of approximately $14.67 million.
• Western Alliance recently reported Q2 earnings of $2.07 per share, exceeding expectations, with a net margin of 16.39% and revenue of $836.21 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%, with a payout ratio of 19.97%.

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,604 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.17% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $14,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 53.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 24.9% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 25,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 5,056 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 22.6% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,262 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 34,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of WAL stock opened at $88.31 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $57.05 and a 1 year high of $98.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.39.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The firm had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAL. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

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.

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