Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 243,885 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 60.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 161,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 243,885 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $11,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1.6% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,674,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,655,000 after acquiring an additional 58,535 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter worth $13,339,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 7,920.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 315,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,535,000 after purchasing an additional 311,689 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,394,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,670,000 after purchasing an additional 81,386 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,179,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,288,000 after purchasing an additional 310,826 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

WAL opened at $78.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.89. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $65.82 and a 1 year high of $97.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $968.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 31.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.56%.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, CAO Ben Mucha sold 5,946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $481,626.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,485 shares in the company, valued at $282,285. This represents a 63.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, National Alliance Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.93.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Profile

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.