B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 54,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,736,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LHM Inc. boosted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 2,141.1% during the second quarter. LHM Inc. now owns 757,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,606,000 after acquiring an additional 723,995 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 16.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,112,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,165,000 after buying an additional 717,242 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 20.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,722,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,832,000 after acquiring an additional 636,577 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 514,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,522,000 after acquiring an additional 506,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $670,170,000 after purchasing an additional 395,101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAL opened at $89.16 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $86.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.09. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $47.60 and a 52-week high of $96.45. The company has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.44. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WAL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.73.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other news, insider Barbara Kennedy sold 11,083 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.59, for a total value of $904,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,843.43. The trade was a 58.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Latta sold 2,996 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total value of $247,919.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,634. This represents a 42.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.