7,538 Shares in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) Bought by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 7,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAL. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,216,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 3,480 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Busey Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.27.

Insider Activity at Western Alliance Bancorporation

In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $64,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $361,831.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Western Alliance Bancorporation news, insider Stephen Russell Curley sold 5,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.43, for a total transaction of $387,500.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,806,356.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 1,000 shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $64,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $361,831.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,186 shares of company stock valued at $612,410 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WAL traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.92. 575,050 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,247,614. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.90. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $38.81 and a 12-month high of $82.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.70. The firm has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.45.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $771.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $737.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 14.18% and a net margin of 15.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.36 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, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 21.57%.

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.