Legato Capital Management LLC Has $2.17 Million Stock Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Legato Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,395 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $2,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tsfg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.5% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 approximately $2,077,527.69. The trade was a 9.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WAL shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.62.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,051,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,166,552. The stock has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.29. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $57.05 and a 12 month high of $98.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.24.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is 19.97%.

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.