Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 18,112 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,313.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 18,112 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 18,895 shares worth about $1.59 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with several major funds also adding to their positions; overall, 79.15% of WAL shares are held by institutional investors.
• Western Alliance reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.22 beating estimates and revenue rising 31% year over year, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $92.93.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 2,313.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,112 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $1,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,016,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $521,710,000 after buying an additional 197,854 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 36.5% during the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,979,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $518,578,000 after buying an additional 1,599,537 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,674,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $318,655,000 after buying an additional 58,535 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.5% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $207,670,000 after buying an additional 81,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,288,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $198,436,000 after buying an additional 36,364 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WAL. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, March 9th. National Alliance Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL opened at $78.49 on Thursday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a one year low of $65.82 and a one year high of $97.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $75.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.37.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.74. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 13.58%. The business had revenue of $968.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $944.18 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. Western Alliance Bancorporation's revenue was up 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is 19.56%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company's core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.

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