Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 7,094 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,094 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.30% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $20,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% during 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 in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL opened at $87.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.44. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $88.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.38 and its 200-day moving average is $67.01.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $737.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 15.54%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WAL shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $88.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was 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 approximately $267,344. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,634. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 2,116 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total value of $160,710.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,265 shares of company stock worth $1,700,391 in the last ninety days. 2.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.