Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 742 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $1,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 46.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,488,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $388,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,418,472 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at $109,298,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,522,000 after buying an additional 506,778 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 116.6% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 405,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,866,000 after buying an additional 218,219 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter worth $11,461,000. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $61.95 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.75 and a fifty-two week high of $98.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.63.

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

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WAL shares. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.07.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

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.