Kestra Advisory Services LLC Acquires 39,636 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. $AB

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services more than doubled its stake in AllianceBernstein during the first quarter, buying 39,636 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 74,211 shares worth about $2.78 million.
• Other institutional investors also increased their positions, and roughly 19.25% of AllianceBernstein’s stock is now held by institutions.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has an average “Hold” rating with a consensus price target of $39.70, while the shares recently traded at $37.91.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 114.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,211 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 39,636 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.08% of AllianceBernstein worth $2,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 17,664.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,640,896 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $140,102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,620,401 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,412,548 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $54,355,000 after buying an additional 624,270 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 51.8% during 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 in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 499,202 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $19,209,000 after buying an additional 5,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in AllianceBernstein by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 348,853 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,422,000 after buying an additional 12,351 shares during the period. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AB shares. Evercore set a $39.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered AllianceBernstein from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $39.50 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded AllianceBernstein from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.70.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

NYSE:AB opened at $37.91 on Friday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1-year low of $34.92 and a 1-year high of $44.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.99 and a 200 day moving average of $38.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.81.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $871.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.70 million. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 6.69%.The firm's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. AllianceBernstein's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.15%.

About AllianceBernstein

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.