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

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 filing with the SEC. The fund owned 514,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing 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.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,488,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,197,000 after buying an additional 1,418,472 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,722,389 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $233,832,000 after purchasing an additional 636,577 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,813,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $176,764,000 after purchasing an additional 20,876 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,347,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,896,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $164,019,000 after purchasing an additional 74,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WAL shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group started coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price 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. 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. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.75.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE WAL traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $84.82. 1,151,657 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,277,767. The company has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $53.75 and a 52 week high of $98.10. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $89.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.62.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 14.66% and a return on equity of 13.16%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation's payout ratio is 23.46%.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.