Fmr LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Fmr LLC trimmed its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,168,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 624,749 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $181,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAL. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,883,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,369,000 after buying an additional 81,238 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,701,000 after purchasing an additional 120,729 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,814,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,604,000 after acquiring an additional 648,983 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the fourth quarter valued at about $109,298,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 609,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,954,000 after buying an additional 95,173 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WAL shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $63.07 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $53.75 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.55.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.03. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 15.49%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.41%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.