Kovack Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,239 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,371 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AB. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth $741,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 288,032 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,683,000 after purchasing an additional 7,071 shares in the last quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. MONECO Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at about $401,000. Finally, JBR Co Financial Management Inc purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at about $429,000. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of AllianceBernstein stock opened at $37.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.25. 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 capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.21.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 9.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is currently 112.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on AllianceBernstein from $39.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price target on AllianceBernstein in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein 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.