M&G Plc Makes New $7.61 Million Investment in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

M&G Plc acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 118,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,612,000. M&G Plc owned approximately 0.11% of Western Alliance Bancorporation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 49.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WAL. 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO J. Kelly Jr. Ardrey sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $361,831.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Up 7.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WAL traded up $5.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.72. The stock had a trading volume of 3,265,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,083,773. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.07 and its 200 day moving average is $61.58. 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 52 week low of $38.81 and a 52 week high of $78.27. The stock has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.46.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $737.97 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 14.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.57%.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Company 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.