Strs Ohio Purchases Shares of 91,641 Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired 91,641 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation, valued at approximately $7,041,000, representing a 0.08% stake in the company.
• Several institutional investors, including UBS AM and Great Lakes Advisors, have recently increased their stakes in Western Alliance, which now has 79.15% of its stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analyst reports generally remain positive on Western Alliance, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $97.79.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 91,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,041,000. Strs Ohio owned 0.08% of Western Alliance Bancorporation as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 347,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,701,000 after acquiring an additional 35,276 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $527,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.1% in the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 170,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,067,000 after purchasing an additional 98,051 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 111,883 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,596,000 after purchasing an additional 21,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 513.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $209,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.79.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL opened at $88.63 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $83.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.26. The company has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 0.61 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 has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 16.39% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The company had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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