AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $39.00 to $36.00. The stock had previously closed at $35.60, but opened at $34.58. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. AllianceBernstein shares last traded at $35.22, with a volume of 188,619 shares traded.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at AllianceBernstein

In other AllianceBernstein news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. bought 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction of $17,090,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,066,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,824,522.84. This trade represents a 19.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 80.8% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 736 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 115.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.87.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.59%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.25%.

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.