EP Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB – Get Rating) by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AB. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 11,742 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 8,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 14,096 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Fin Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 39,557 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. 11.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AB. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group raised shares of AllianceBernstein from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $43.50 in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein to $44.00 in a report on Friday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.70.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

AllianceBernstein stock opened at $34.98 on Friday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1-year low of $31.31 and a 1-year high of $49.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.43 and its 200 day moving average is $38.16.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The asset manager reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.13. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 17.94%. The company had revenue of $990.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.00%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.32%.

About AllianceBernstein

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AllianceBernstein Holding LP engages in the provision of research, investment management, and related services. It offers investment trusts, mutual funds, hedge funds, and other investment vehicles. The company was founded in October 2000 and is headquartered in Nashville, TN.