The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stock Holdings in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 20.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 330,868 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,173 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.29% of AllianceBernstein worth $11,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 231.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 127,220 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,420,000 after acquiring an additional 88,875 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 330.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 57,271 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 43,956 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1,354.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,477,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in AllianceBernstein by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 177,472 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,997,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AB stock opened at $36.39 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.23. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1 year low of $28.02 and a 1 year high of $38.96.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.46%. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AB shares. Barclays upped their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. bought 500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.18 per share, with a total value of $17,090,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,066,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,824,522.84. The trade was a 19.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.