Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL Shares Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 72.6%, holding 8,235 shares valued at $633,000, following a purchase of an additional 3,465 shares.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for the stock, with JPMorgan Chase raising its target price from $80 to $87, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $97.79.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend of $1.52 and a yield of 1.7%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 72.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,465 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAL. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,814,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $151,604,000 after purchasing an additional 648,983 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,486,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,341,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $195,616,000 after purchasing an additional 445,176 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 824.8% in the 1st quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 442,507 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,998,000 after purchasing an additional 394,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,076,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $466,821,000 after purchasing an additional 339,758 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total transaction of $209,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. The trade was a 9.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL stock traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $89.35. The stock had a trading volume of 631,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,094,484. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $83.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.39. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $57.05 and a 52-week high of $98.10.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. 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. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.79.

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.