Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 304,224 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,028,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 304,224 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $169,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,418,472 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at about $109,298,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,814,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,604,000 after acquiring an additional 648,983 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 6,342.7% during 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, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,230,000. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson cut their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:WAL opened at $77.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $53.75 and a 1-year high of $98.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.56 and a 200 day moving average of $85.90. The firm has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.43.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last announced its quarterly 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, research analysts anticipate that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.41%.

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.