Blue Trust Inc. Lowers Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 24.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,488,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418,472 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 93.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,793,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,568,000 after buying an additional 1,347,921 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $44,522,000 after buying an additional 506,778 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,230,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,386,000. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $87.56 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $53.75 and a 52-week high of $98.10. The company has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.46.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 13.14%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 8.99 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

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.