Charles G.T. Stonehill Sells 5,000 Shares of AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Stock

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total transaction of $185,850.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $913,378.41. This represents a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

Shares of AB opened at $37.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $36.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.80. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a fifty-two week low of $34.92 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The asset manager reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $887.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $907.67 million. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 25.94% and a net margin of 6.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. Analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1,243.9% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 218,727 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,417,000 after purchasing an additional 202,451 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 165,739 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,378,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 114.6% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 74,211 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,778,000 after buying an additional 39,636 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter worth about $1,190,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter worth about $1,491,000. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AllianceBernstein from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore set a $39.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

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.