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

Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 0.2 %

AllianceBernstein stock opened at $36.64 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.54. AllianceBernstein has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $38.96. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.23.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.41%. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is currently 88.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $139,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $903,935.01. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. acquired 500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction of $17,090,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,066,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,824,522.84. The trade was a 19.48 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 80.8% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 736 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the third quarter worth about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1,354.0% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

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.