Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Raises Stake in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in AllianceBernstein in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of AllianceBernstein stock opened at $37.07 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.51 and a 200 day moving average of $36.47. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 12 month low of $30.57 and a 12 month high of $41.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.33%. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price objective on AllianceBernstein in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays cut their target price on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein Company 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.