AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. $AB Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its AllianceBernstein stake by 12.7% in the first quarter, selling 111,875 shares and retaining 768,009 shares valued at approximately $28.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 19.25% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $39.50. AllianceBernstein’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of estimates, though revenue increased 7.5% year over year.
• AllianceBernstein declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing an annualized payout of $3.28 and an approximately 8.9% yield; its payout ratio stands at 97.04%.

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 768,009 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 111,875 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.82% of AllianceBernstein worth $28,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1,243.9% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 218,727 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $8,417,000 after acquiring an additional 202,451 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 165,739 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,378,000 after acquiring an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 114.6% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 74,211 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,778,000 after purchasing an additional 39,636 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth $1,491,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in AllianceBernstein in the fourth quarter worth $1,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AB. Evercore set a $39.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AllianceBernstein from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total transaction of $185,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,573 shares in the company, valued at approximately $913,378.41. This represents a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AB opened at $36.68 on Monday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 12-month low of $34.92 and a 12-month high of $44.11. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $36.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.10.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The asset manager reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01). AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 25.94% and a net margin of 6.60%.The company had revenue of $887.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $907.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. AllianceBernstein's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.9%. AllianceBernstein's payout ratio is 97.04%.

AllianceBernstein 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.

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