Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL Shares Sold by Next Century Growth Investors LLC

Key Points

• Next Century Growth Investors LLC reduced its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6.8%, now holding approximately 139,874 shares worth $10.7 million.
• Analysts have been adjusting their price targets for Western Alliance shares, with Piper Sandler raising it to $105.00 and Wells Fargo lowering it to $85.00.
• Western Alliance recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, set to be paid on August 29th, representing an annual yield of 1.7%.

Next Century Growth Investors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,155 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $10,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 5.9% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,076,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,821,000 after buying an additional 339,758 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.8% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,604,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $276,954,000 after buying an additional 26,995 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,341,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $195,616,000 after buying an additional 445,176 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,909,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $146,668,000 after buying an additional 25,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,814,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $151,604,000 after buying an additional 648,983 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WAL stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.64. 1,009,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 950,104. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $81.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.18. 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 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.33.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $836.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $209,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 24,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,077,527.69. This trade represents a 9.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $104.00 price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.79.

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.