Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 969,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,649 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.88% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $80,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAL. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,488,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $388,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418,472 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,793,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,921 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,522,000 after purchasing an additional 506,778 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,230,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,386,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WAL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group started coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WAL opened at $72.87 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $86.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.43. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $53.75 and a 12-month high of $98.10.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 15.49%. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.41%.

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.