Summit Securities Group LLC Buys New Stake in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,100 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,026,102 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $112,238,000 after purchasing an additional 33,888 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,899,762 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $107,552,000 after buying an additional 445,398 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 6.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,613,381 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $91,181,000 after buying an additional 154,039 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 939,649 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,852,000 after buying an additional 61,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 413,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,919,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AllianceBernstein Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AB stock opened at $38.31 on Monday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a twelve month low of $30.57 and a twelve month high of $41.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.85 and a 200 day moving average of $36.80.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 17.88%. On average, research analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on AB shares. Barclays lowered their price target on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen lowered AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price target on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

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.