Bastion Asset Management Inc. Makes New $1.37 Million Investment in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Bastion Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 37,619 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,365,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,600 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in AllianceBernstein by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,721 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in AllianceBernstein by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,518 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company's stock.

AllianceBernstein Stock Down 1.4 %

AllianceBernstein stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.24. The company had a trading volume of 355,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,168. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 52 week low of $30.57 and a 52 week high of $41.86. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.60 and a 200-day moving average of $37.23.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $838.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $859.36 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 17.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.95%. AllianceBernstein's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $37.50 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.67.

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.