Nicholas Wealth LLC. Makes New $892,000 Investment in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Nicholas Wealth LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 23,283 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the first quarter worth $87,000. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AllianceBernstein Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AB traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 185,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 166,531. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.75. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1 year low of $30.57 and a 1 year high of $43.30. The firm has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.82.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $844.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $853.64 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 18.63%. AllianceBernstein's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. 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's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on AllianceBernstein from $37.50 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised AllianceBernstein from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $42.25 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered AllianceBernstein from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at AllianceBernstein

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

About AllianceBernstein

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.