Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 389,165 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 24,000 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.34% of AllianceBernstein worth $14,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company's stock.
AllianceBernstein Trading Up 4.8 %
Shares of NYSE:AB traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.44. 546,439 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 441,272. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.97. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a twelve month low of $30.57 and a twelve month high of $41.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.90.
AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 17.88%. On average, equities research analysts expect that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.
AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.22%. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein's payout ratio is 112.90%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have issued reports on AB. Bank of America downgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on AllianceBernstein from $37.50 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.17.
Get Our Latest Research Report on AB
About AllianceBernstein
(
Free Report)
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.
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