AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,127,543 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 180% from the previous session’s volume of 402,136 shares.The stock last traded at $38.03 and had previously closed at $38.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AB. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price target on AllianceBernstein in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen downgraded AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.57.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.05 dividend. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is currently 112.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 178,386 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,616,000 after buying an additional 5,637 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 66,783 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,477,000 after buying an additional 24,575 shares in the last quarter. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $592,000. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter valued at $556,000. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its stake in 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 period. 19.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.