AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Stock Rating Lowered by TD Cowen

TD Cowen cut shares of AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. TD Cowen currently has $38.50 price target on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous price target of $38.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of 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 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein Stock Up 0.1 %

AllianceBernstein stock opened at $37.61 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.23. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.21. AllianceBernstein has a twelve month low of $30.57 and a twelve month high of $41.37.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 9.46%. Equities analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 112.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AB. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 66,783 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,477,000 after acquiring an additional 24,575 shares during the period. 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $592,000. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $556,000. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,462 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Second Line Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 8,501 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.