Great Lakes Advisors LLC Buys 98,051 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.1% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.15% of the company worth $13 million.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation experienced multiple upgrades from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.79.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.7%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 136.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 98,051 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $13,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $466,821,000 after acquiring an additional 339,758 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $276,954,000 after acquiring an additional 26,995 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $195,616,000 after acquiring an additional 445,176 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,909,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,668,000 after acquiring an additional 25,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,814,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $151,604,000 after acquiring an additional 648,983 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Western Alliance Bancorporation stock traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $88.63. 1,138,385 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,098,668. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $83.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.39. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $57.05 and a one year high of $98.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,077,527.69. The trade was 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 2.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.79.

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.