AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Plans $0.76 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 4th and payment scheduled for August 14th.
• The company reported a net margin of 9.44% and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76 for the last quarter, slightly below analysts' expectations.
• Analyst ratings have varied, with Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock to "neutral" and adjusting the price target downward, while Evercore ISI upgraded it to "outperform" with a higher price target.

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 25th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of 0.76 per share by the asset manager on Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th.

AllianceBernstein has a payout ratio of 90.7% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings tumble. Research analysts expect AllianceBernstein to earn $4.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 79.8%.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of AB stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.91. The company had a trading volume of 184,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,789. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $40.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.75. AllianceBernstein has a one year low of $30.57 and a one year high of $43.30.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $844.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.64 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.44% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AllianceBernstein

In other AllianceBernstein news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total value of $205,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,923 shares in the company, valued at $861,609.14. This trade represents a 19.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Kaye sold 4,825 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $196,860.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 39,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,626,981.60. The trade was a 10.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

An institutional investor recently raised its position in AllianceBernstein stock. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 43.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,375 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 8,304 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $1,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AB. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $42.25 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America cut shares of AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.67.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm is a related adviser The firm manages separate client focused portfolios for its clients. The firm primarily invests in common and preferred stocks, warrants and convertible securities, government and corporate fxed-income securities, commodities, currencies, real estate-related assets and infation-protected securities.

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