Fmr LLC Acquires 154,039 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

FMR LLC boosted its position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,613,381 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 154,039 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 2.27% of AllianceBernstein worth $91,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 12.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 878,323 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,645,000 after buying an additional 95,847 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 231.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 127,220 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,420,000 after buying an additional 88,875 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 59.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 645,685 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $22,528,000 after buying an additional 239,941 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in AllianceBernstein during the third quarter worth about $671,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AllianceBernstein during the third quarter worth about $31,650,000. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company's stock.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AllianceBernstein stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.60. The stock had a trading volume of 253,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 297,735. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $36.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.81. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.65%. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. AllianceBernstein's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AllianceBernstein

In related news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. purchased 500,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction of $17,090,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,066,838 shares in the company, valued at $104,824,522.84. This trade represents a 19.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.