Royce & Associates LP Sells 95,653 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 163,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 95,653 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $13,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,461,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 314,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,970,000 after acquiring an additional 45,764 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 96,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,090,000 after acquiring an additional 8,201 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,099,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 1,091.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,947,000 after acquiring an additional 31,214 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WAL shares. DA Davidson lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group started coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock opened at $77.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $53.75 and a 12 month high of $98.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $85.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.17.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.