Gateway Advisory LLC Invests $304,000 in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Gateway Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AB. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AllianceBernstein during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 198.7% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,428 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AllianceBernstein Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AB stock opened at $34.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.24. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1 year low of $25.83 and a 1 year high of $35.67.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.42 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 15.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 117.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AllianceBernstein

In other news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $903,935.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $139,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,923 shares in the company, valued at $903,935.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $445,673.47. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,700. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AB. TD Cowen upped their target price on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.95.

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.