New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 7,180 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,180 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.09% of Western Alliance Bancorporation worth $6,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smead Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,957,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 489.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,333,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,320,000 after buying an additional 1,107,431 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 103.2% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,725,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,510,000 after buying an additional 876,413 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 170.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,294,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,507,000 after buying an additional 815,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,368,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $61.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 1.47. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $11.35 and a 52-week high of $70.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $711.34 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.99% and a net margin of 16.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WAL. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $72.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.56.

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.