Meridian Wealth Management LLC Makes New $223,000 Investment in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WAL. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $99.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.73.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WAL stock opened at $95.73 on Tuesday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $47.60 and a 52 week high of $98.10. The company has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.10). Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $833.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.40 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 23.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,634. This represents a 42.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

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.