Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 120,729 Shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,880,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 120,729 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $162,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at $33,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 167.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. 79.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of WAL stock opened at $89.70 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.45. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $53.75 and a 12-month high of $98.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.74.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.80 earnings per share (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 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 predict that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $107.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $92.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.40.

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.