AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $35.83 and last traded at $35.56, with a volume of 266075 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AB. TD Cowen raised their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.30 and a 200-day moving average of $33.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.24.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.42 million. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 7.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Research analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.03%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is 98.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. bought 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction of $17,090,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,066,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,824,522.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. purchased 500,000 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction of $17,090,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,066,838 shares in the company, valued at $104,824,522.84. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Hogbin sold 12,781 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $445,673.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,700. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AB. Karpas Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.2% in the first quarter. Karpas Strategies LLC now owns 18,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.6% in the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 29,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 8.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.25% 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.