AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its stake in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,123 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,596 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $2,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Herold Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 15,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,975 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Karpas Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Karpas Strategies LLC now owns 18,110 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 34,540 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP grew its stake in AllianceBernstein by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 29,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $54.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.69.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

NYSE AB traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.97. The stock had a trading volume of 691,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 263,677. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.68 and its 200 day moving average is $33.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.24. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a twelve month low of $25.83 and a twelve month high of $35.45.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last released 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 $0.66 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.42 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.47% and a return on equity of 15.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.12%. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 121.16%.

AllianceBernstein 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.