Analysts Set AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Target Price at $41.58

Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.4167.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AB. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of AllianceBernstein from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised AllianceBernstein from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th.

AllianceBernstein Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AB stock opened at $38.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.43. AllianceBernstein has a 12 month low of $35.59 and a 12 month high of $44.11.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $957.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $956.45 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.62% and a return on equity of 21.17%. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AllianceBernstein will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 17,664.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,640,896 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $140,102,000 after buying an additional 3,620,401 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,412,548 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $54,355,000 after purchasing an additional 624,270 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 499,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,209,000 after purchasing an additional 5,364 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 348,853 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,422,000 after purchasing an additional 12,351 shares during the period. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.