Four Tree Island Advisory LLC Takes $8.70 Million Position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Four Tree Island Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 234,436 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $8,695,000. AllianceBernstein comprises 6.0% of Four Tree Island Advisory LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC owned 0.20% of AllianceBernstein at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in AllianceBernstein by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 878,323 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $30,645,000 after acquiring an additional 95,847 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in AllianceBernstein by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 645,685 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $22,528,000 after acquiring an additional 239,941 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter valued at $290,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in AllianceBernstein by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,454,364 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $85,633,000 after acquiring an additional 265,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 3rd quarter worth $671,000. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company's stock.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of AB traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.87. The stock had a trading volume of 957,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,725. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $37.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.04. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 52 week low of $30.57 and a 52 week high of $41.37.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 17.77% and a net margin of 9.46%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.71%. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein's payout ratio is presently 82.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AB. Barclays dropped their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.40.

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.