AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,920 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,472 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $1,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AllianceBernstein stock opened at $38.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 12 month low of $30.57 and a 12 month high of $41.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.70.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 9.46%. Analysts expect that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.05 dividend. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.94%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AB has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen lowered shares of AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.75.

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.