Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 263,940 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL – Get Rating) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 461,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 263,940 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $29,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,361,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $775,286,000 after buying an additional 347,525 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,971,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,724,000 after acquiring an additional 880,430 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,512,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,673,000 after acquiring an additional 34,763 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,857,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,629,000 after purchasing an additional 127,683 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,833,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,756,000 after purchasing an additional 268,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Stephens boosted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.25.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $34.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 3.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $7.46 and a twelve month high of $86.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.29.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $910.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $648.39 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 21.73% and a net margin of 28.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 8.23 EPS for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 11th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Marianne Boyd Johnson acquired 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.79 per share, for a total transaction of $63,830.25. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,830.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Tim R. Bruckner sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.16, for a total value of $128,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,481,051.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marianne Boyd Johnson acquired 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.79 per share, with a total value of $63,830.25. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,830.25. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.57% of the company’s stock.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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Western Alliance Bancorp is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of deposit, lending, treasury management, international banking, and online banking products and services. It operates through the following business segments: Commercial, Consumer Related, and Corporate and Other. The Commercial segment focuses on delivering commercial banking and treasury management products and services to small and middle-market businesses, specialized banking services to sophisticated commercial institutions and investors within niche industries, as well as financial services to the real estate industry.