AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.20.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AllianceBernstein from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Activity at AllianceBernstein

In other news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. bought 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction of $17,090,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,066,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,824,522.84. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $139,480.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $903,935.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. bought 500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.18 per share, with a total value of $17,090,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,066,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,824,522.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AB. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 1st quarter valued at $23,660,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in AllianceBernstein by 8.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,873,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $97,090,000 after buying an additional 234,253 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 426.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 273,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,248,000 after buying an additional 221,736 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,477,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 159.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 154,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,371,000 after acquiring an additional 94,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

NYSE:AB opened at $38.41 on Friday. AllianceBernstein has a one year low of $25.83 and a one year high of $38.45. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.98.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.42 million. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 7.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AllianceBernstein will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.39%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.84%.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm is a related adviser The firm manages separate client focused portfolios for its clients. The firm primarily invests in common and preferred stocks, warrants and convertible securities, government and corporate fxed-income securities, commodities, currencies, real estate-related assets and infation-protected securities.