Disciplined Equity Management Inc. Purchases 1,210 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Disciplined Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,493 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,210 shares during the period. AllianceBernstein comprises approximately 1.3% of Disciplined Equity Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Disciplined Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $1,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in AllianceBernstein in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter worth $1,016,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 851,533 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,423,000 after purchasing an additional 242,765 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in AllianceBernstein by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,295 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in AllianceBernstein by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 86,824 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 16,478 shares during the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AllianceBernstein Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:AB opened at $34.81 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.83. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.24. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a twelve month low of $25.83 and a twelve month high of $35.67.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The asset manager reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 7.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 117.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AB shares. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays started coverage on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at AllianceBernstein

In other news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $139,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $903,935.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. acquired 500,000 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were purchased 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 approximately $104,824,522.84. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $139,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $903,935.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.