AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Price Target Cut to $40.00 by Analysts at Barclays

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $41.00 to $40.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

AB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “negative” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised AllianceBernstein from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.42.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of AB stock opened at $38.91 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86. AllianceBernstein has a 12 month low of $35.59 and a 12 month high of $44.11.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 21.17% and a net margin of 6.62%.The company had revenue of $957.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $956.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in AllianceBernstein by 51.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,375 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 8,304 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Curi Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $309,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 438.1% in the 2nd quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 108,143 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,415,000 after acquiring an additional 88,045 shares during the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AllianceBernstein

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.