Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Grows Stock Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,112,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 717,242 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 4.64% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $328,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 29,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,911,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 29,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 75,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,959,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 11,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total transaction of $160,710.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,520 shares in the company, valued at $267,344. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WAL traded up $1.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.39. 1,542,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,342,379. The company has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.46. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $81.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.09.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The firm had revenue of $771.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $737.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.27.

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.