American Century Companies Inc. Buys 33,888 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,026,102 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 33,888 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.63% of AllianceBernstein worth $112,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter valued at about $260,000. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its position in AllianceBernstein by 175.5% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 71,287 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,644,000 after purchasing an additional 45,413 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in AllianceBernstein by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 20,880 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Zevin Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AllianceBernstein by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Zevin Asset Management LLC now owns 10,308 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 4,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter valued at $995,000. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 0.0 %

AllianceBernstein stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $38.36. 634,439 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,967. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1-year low of $30.57 and a 1-year high of $41.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.72. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25.

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AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $1.05 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 10.95%. AllianceBernstein's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AB shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price target on AllianceBernstein in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.