AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.95.

AB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their price target on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on AllianceBernstein in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company.

AllianceBernstein Stock Up 1.0 %

AllianceBernstein stock opened at $35.05 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.24. AllianceBernstein has a 52 week low of $25.83 and a 52 week high of $35.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.84.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.10%. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 117.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AllianceBernstein

In related news, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $445,673.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,700. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. acquired 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,066,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,824,522.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $445,673.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $348,700. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,975 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Karpas Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.2% during the first quarter. Karpas Strategies LLC now owns 18,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.6% in the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 29,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

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.