Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 6,342.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 514,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 506,778 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $44,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jackson Square Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 26.9% during the third quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 20,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 4,265 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 333.8% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 51,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,491,000 after purchasing an additional 39,951 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at $256,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at $2,623,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

WAL traded up $3.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $93.42. 1,067,661 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,319,692. The company has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.48. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.20 and a fifty-two week high of $96.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.10). Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.40 million. As a group, analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.73.

Insider Activity

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $335,634. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total transaction of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $650,843.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.75% of the company's stock.

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.