American Century Companies Inc. Sells 228,718 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 62.8%, selling 228,718 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 135,602 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million.
• Western Alliance Bancorporation is expected to report earnings of $9.05 per share for the current year, following a quarterly earnings report that exceeded estimates with $2.07 earnings per share.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, representing a 1.7% yield, with a payout ratio of 19.97%.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 62.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 228,718 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.12% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $10,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter worth $33,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 22.7% during the 1st 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 period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 144.5% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 0.7%

WAL stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $89.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,009,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,606. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.39. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $57.05 and a twelve month high of $98.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.18.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 16.39%.The firm had revenue of $836.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 2,500 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.75% of the company's stock.

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.