Bank of Montreal Can Has $67.74 Million Stock Position in Western Alliance Bancorporation $WAL

Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) by 7.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 868,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,660 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Western Alliance Bancorporation were worth $67,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. South Dakota Investment Council boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 117,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,148,000 after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 50,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,919,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Western Alliance Bancorporation by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 13,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 133,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,389,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation by 995.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock Up 0.7%

WAL opened at $77.43 on Wednesday. Western Alliance Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $98.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.35.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter. Western Alliance Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.93% and a net margin of 17.14%.The business had revenue of $718.00 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Alliance Bancorporation will post 9.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Alliance Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Western Alliance Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Western Alliance Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Western Alliance Bancorporation from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. National Bankshares set a $118.00 price target on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Western Alliance Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Alliance Bancorporation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Dale Gibbons acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $308,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 300,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,127,566. This represents a 1.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.68% of the company’s stock.

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.