AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Receives $42.17 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.1667.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of AllianceBernstein from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the second quarter valued at approximately $193,757,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after buying an additional 312,878 shares during the period. 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the first quarter worth $20,144,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in AllianceBernstein by 1,154.2% in the third quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 336,502 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,861,000 after buying an additional 309,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 45.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 325,018 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,451,000 after buying an additional 101,041 shares during the period. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

AllianceBernstein stock opened at $39.26 on Friday. AllianceBernstein has a 1 year low of $32.28 and a 1 year high of $43.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.86.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $884.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $900.69 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 7.09% and a return on equity of 20.56%. AllianceBernstein’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.8%. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is currently 113.16%.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

AllianceBernstein is a global investment management firm that offers a broad range of research-driven strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternative investments. The firm provides active and quantitative portfolio management, drawing on in-house research capabilities to serve the needs of institutional clients, private wealth investors and intermediaries. Its product lineup encompasses mutual funds, separately managed accounts and customized investment vehicles designed to meet diverse risk-return objectives.

The firm’s roots date back to 1967 with the founding of Sanford C.