Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stock Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,343 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,027 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.15% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $13,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 115.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 401 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on WAL shares. DA Davidson cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WAL traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.14. 986,122 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,219,526. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $53.75 and a 1 year high of $98.10. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $76.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.41%.

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.