Citigroup Inc. Purchases 239,941 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 59.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 645,685 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 239,941 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of AllianceBernstein worth $22,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 80.8% during 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 in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 115.4% during 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 1,354.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the second quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company's stock.

AllianceBernstein Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of AllianceBernstein stock traded up $0.86 on Wednesday, hitting $36.65. 282,085 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 299,404. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.70. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 12-month low of $27.71 and a 12-month high of $38.96. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.23.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. AllianceBernstein's payout ratio is currently 88.25%.

Insider Activity

In other AllianceBernstein news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. acquired 500,000 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $34.18 per share, with a total value of $17,090,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

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.