William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 683,219 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,711,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 683,219 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $143,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WAL. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 36.5% during the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,979,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $518,578,000 after buying an additional 1,599,537 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7,920.9% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 315,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,535,000 after buying an additional 311,689 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 35.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,179,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,288,000 after buying an additional 310,826 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 750.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 287,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,019,000 after buying an additional 253,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 19.2% during the second quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,435,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,921,000 after buying an additional 231,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE WAL opened at $78.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $65.82 and a 52 week high of $97.23.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $968.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $944.18 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 13.58%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s quarterly revenue was up 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 19.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, iA Financial set a $101.00 target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.93.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

Western Alliance Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Through its principal subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, the company provides a range of banking services to commercial clients, entrepreneurs and real estate developers. As one of the largest regional banks in the western United States, it focuses on relationship-driven banking solutions tailored to niche industries and growing businesses.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products, treasury management and a variety of lending services.