Vestcor Inc Lowers Stock Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has reduced its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 60.2%, now holding 6,965 shares valued at approximately $535,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Bank of Montreal Can, significantly increased their positions in Western Alliance, with some reporting stakes up to 973.1%.
• Western Alliance announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38, providing an annual yield of 2.0% and demonstrating a payout ratio of 19.97%.

Vestcor Inc lowered its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 60.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,531 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Europe London LLP increased its position 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 worth $7,572,000 after acquiring an additional 5,643 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 12.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 53.3% in the 1st 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 last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 25,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 5,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 99,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,277,000 after buying an additional 4,909 shares in the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.62.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $78.31. The company had a trading volume of 716,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,117,766. The company has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.97. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $98.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.58 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 16.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,077,527.69. This represents a 9.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation 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.