Private Portfolio Partners LLC Buys 6,609 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Private Portfolio Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 56.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,359 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 6,609 shares during the quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC's holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,026,102 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $112,238,000 after purchasing an additional 33,888 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,899,762 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $107,552,000 after acquiring an additional 445,398 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 6.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,613,381 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $91,181,000 after acquiring an additional 154,039 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 939,649 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $34,852,000 after acquiring an additional 61,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 0.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 413,165 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $14,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company's stock.

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AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AB stock traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.17. 933,196 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 432,231. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 52 week low of $30.57 and a 52 week high of $41.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.97.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.61%. AllianceBernstein's dividend payout ratio is currently 112.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price target on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.58.

AllianceBernstein 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.