Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC Sells 5,000 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAL. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 136.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:WAL opened at $93.65 on Friday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $47.60 and a 12-month high of $96.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.61.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $833.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.40 million. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 14.66%. Equities research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 23.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.