AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Downgraded to Hold Rating by TD Cowen

TD Cowen cut shares of AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $38.50 price target on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous price target of $38.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays dropped their price target on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price target on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AllianceBernstein stock opened at $37.46 on Tuesday. AllianceBernstein has a 1 year low of $30.57 and a 1 year high of $41.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.24. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.21.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 17.88%. Sell-side analysts predict that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.21%. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 4.9% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,098,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 5.9% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 7,907 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AllianceBernstein

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.