AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Receives $39.50 Average PT from Analysts

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.50.

Several research firms have recently commented on AB. Evercore set a $39.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of AllianceBernstein from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays cut their price target on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th.

Insider Transactions at AllianceBernstein

In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total value of $185,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $913,378.41. This represents a 16.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 51.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 43.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,375 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 8,304 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the 2nd quarter worth about $210,000. Curi Capital LLC bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the 2nd quarter worth about $309,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP increased its stake in AllianceBernstein by 438.1% in the 2nd quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 108,143 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,415,000 after buying an additional 88,045 shares during the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE AB opened at $36.21 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.91. AllianceBernstein has a 12-month low of $34.92 and a 12-month high of $44.11. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.80.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The asset manager reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.01). AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 25.94% and a net margin of 6.60%.The business had revenue of $887.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $907.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that AllianceBernstein will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is presently 97.04%.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein is a global investment management firm that offers a broad range of research-driven strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternative investments. The firm provides active and quantitative portfolio management, drawing on in-house research capabilities to serve the needs of institutional clients, private wealth investors and intermediaries. Its product lineup encompasses mutual funds, separately managed accounts and customized investment vehicles designed to meet diverse risk-return objectives.

The firm’s roots date back to 1967 with the founding of Sanford C.