Royal Bank of Canada Sells 11,498 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada sold 11,498 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation, reducing its holdings by 5.9%, leaving it with approximately 184,514 shares worth $14.18 million.
• Insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation at an average price of $83.91, indicating a 9.17% decrease in his position.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analyst expectations, and recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,498 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.17% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $14,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAL. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Tsfg LLC bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 22.7% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 763 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 91.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.79.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of WAL traded down $1.73 on Tuesday, reaching $87.32. 1,474,841 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 964,245. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.35. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $57.05 and a 12 month high of $98.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

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 (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In related news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $209,775.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.