Legal & General Group Plc Sells 9,028 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,028 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $13,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 113.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $80.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.34. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $65.82 and a 52 week high of $97.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $968.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $944.18 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 13.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Profile

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.