Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Purchases 202,451 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. $AB

Key Points

• Crestwood Advisors boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 1,243.9%, buying 202,451 shares to hold 218,727 shares (~0.24% of the company) valued at about $8.42 million at quarter-end.
• AllianceBernstein declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 (annualized $3.32) yielding 8.3%, but the payout ratio is an elevated 118.15%, suggesting the dividend may be unsustainable.
• The firm missed the quarter on both EPS ($0.83 vs. $0.87 est.) and revenue ($871.1M vs. $894.7M), and analysts' consensus is a Hold rating with an average target of $40.25.

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 1,243.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,727 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 202,451 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC owned about 0.24% of AllianceBernstein worth $8,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $35,114,000 after buying an additional 312,878 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1,154.2% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 336,502 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,861,000 after purchasing an additional 309,673 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 299,685 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,454,000 after purchasing an additional 7,450 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 196,443 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,508,000 after purchasing an additional 21,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 194,030 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $7,416,000 after purchasing an additional 20,338 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AllianceBernstein stock opened at $39.82 on Friday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 52-week low of $35.59 and a 52-week high of $44.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.83.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.04). AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 6.69%.The firm had revenue of $871.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.3%. AllianceBernstein's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.50 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.25.

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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