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

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.95.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AB. Barclays began coverage on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, 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.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of AllianceBernstein stock opened at $35.01 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.84. The company has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.24. AllianceBernstein has a 1 year low of $25.83 and a 1 year high of $35.67.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 7.68%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.11%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.84%.

Insider Transactions at AllianceBernstein

In other news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. bought 500,000 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction 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. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other AllianceBernstein news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. purchased 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $104,824,522.84. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $139,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,923 shares in the company, valued at $903,935.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $622,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 128,951 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AllianceBernstein by 385.3% during the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 54,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,834,000 after buying an additional 43,088 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 7,464 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in AllianceBernstein by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 17,449 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently 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.