Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 2,000 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 0.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 413,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $14,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AB. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 80.8% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 736 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 7,907 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 3.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 3.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,071 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

NYSE:AB opened at $37.26 on Friday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 52-week low of $30.10 and a 52-week high of $38.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.69 and its 200 day moving average is $34.98. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.21.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.27%. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AB shares. Barclays dropped their price target on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.40.

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.