Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Shares Sold by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.1%, owning 167,591 shares valued at approximately $12.88 million after selling 12,883 shares.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation reported an EPS of $2.07 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.04, and had a net margin of 16.39%.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.88%, indicating a strong commitment to returning value to its shareholders.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,883 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $12,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 90,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,643 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 174,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,585,000 after purchasing an additional 19,639 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 53.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 24.9% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 25,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 5,056 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 99,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,277,000 after purchasing an additional 4,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE WAL traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.33. 999,220 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,066,573. The company has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.29. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $57.05 and a 52-week high of $98.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.18.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WAL. 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.62.

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.