Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Has $5.41 Million Holdings in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 44.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 155,000 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 48,000 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. owned 0.13% of AllianceBernstein worth $5,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 231.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 127,220 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,420,000 after acquiring an additional 88,875 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 24.3% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 160,671 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,582,000 after buying an additional 31,399 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 215,337 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,481,000 after acquiring an additional 24,951 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $671,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,650,000. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company's stock.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE AB traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $37.05. 406,288 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,306. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.83 and a 200-day moving average of $34.48. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a one year low of $27.16 and a one year high of $38.96. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.23.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.31%. AllianceBernstein's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AB. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen increased their target price on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

Insider Activity at AllianceBernstein

In other AllianceBernstein news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. bought 500,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction of $17,090,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $139,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $903,935.01. The trade was a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.