AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Given "Equal Weight" Rating at Barclays

Barclays restated their equal weight rating on shares of AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Free Report) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has a $34.00 price objective on the asset manager's stock.

AB has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen cut AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.17.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AB traded up $1.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.44. 546,439 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 441,272. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.97. AllianceBernstein has a 52-week low of $30.57 and a 52-week high of $41.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $37.01 and its 200-day moving average is $36.90.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 17.88%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.22%. AllianceBernstein's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.90%.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 11.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,329 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,093,000 after buying an additional 3,339 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,587 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in AllianceBernstein by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 208,120 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,261,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the 3rd quarter worth $322,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein during the 3rd quarter worth $418,000. 19.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.