The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 107,275 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 630,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 107,275 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.57% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $54,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 187,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,188,000 after purchasing an additional 48,847 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,386,000. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 192,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,641,000 after purchasing an additional 46,865 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $463,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter worth about $223,000. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAL traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.61. The stock had a trading volume of 413,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,563. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.56 and a fifty-two week high of $98.10. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $87.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.38.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at $335,634. This represents a 42.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.75% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.73.

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.