Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL Stock Position Raised by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,329 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.20% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $18,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAL. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter worth $31,072,000. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 823,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,377,000 after acquiring an additional 55,933 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WAL opened at $86.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.77. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $57.05 and a twelve month high of $94.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $718.00 million during the quarter. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 12.93%. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Dale Gibbons purchased 4,000 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.00 per share, with a total value of $308,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 300,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,127,566. This represents a 1.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WAL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.87.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.