Bank of Montreal Can Acquires 174,682 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 596,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 174,682 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.54% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $37,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the second quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 26.5% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE WAL opened at $85.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.53. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $38.81 and a 12 month high of $88.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $771.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $737.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.57%.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,843.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $650,843.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $247,919.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,634. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,265 shares of company stock valued at $1,700,391. 2.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.40.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company 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.