M&T Bank Corp Decreases Stock Position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. $AB

Key Points

• M&T Bank cut its stake in AllianceBernstein by 72.4% in Q4, selling 31,068 shares and leaving it with 11,823 shares valued at about $455,000.
• AllianceBernstein recently missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.83 vs. $0.87 expected; revenue $871.1M vs. $894.7M expected) and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 (annualized $3.32, yield 8.4%) with a payout ratio of 118.15%.
• Several large institutions have been buying shares (e.g., Goldman Sachs up 51.8% to 916,574 shares), yet the stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with a $40.25 target and a market cap of about $3.64 billion.

M&T Bank Corp reduced its position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB - Free Report) by 72.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,823 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 31,068 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1,154.2% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 336,502 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,861,000 after buying an additional 309,673 shares in the last quarter. HRT Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 438.1% during the 2nd quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 108,143 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,415,000 after buying an additional 88,045 shares in the last quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 88,733 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,391,000 after buying an additional 30,380 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AllianceBernstein Stock Down 1.2%

AllianceBernstein stock opened at $39.43 on Friday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 52 week low of $35.59 and a 52 week high of $44.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.83.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.04). AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 22.31% and a net margin of 6.69%.The business had revenue of $871.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $894.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. AllianceBernstein's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. AllianceBernstein's payout ratio is presently 118.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.50 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded AllianceBernstein from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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