NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ Takes Position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. $AB

NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 19,198 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $198,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SMH Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the second quarter valued at approximately $395,000. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 5.6% in the second quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc grew its position in AllianceBernstein by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 7,525 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AllianceBernstein by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,635 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AllianceBernstein

In other AllianceBernstein news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total transaction of $185,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $913,378.41. The trade was a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

Shares of AllianceBernstein stock opened at $36.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.80. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1-year low of $34.92 and a 1-year high of $44.11.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The asset manager reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $887.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $907.67 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 25.94%. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.9%. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AB shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AllianceBernstein from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised AllianceBernstein from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Evercore set a $39.00 price objective on AllianceBernstein in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AllianceBernstein presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

AllianceBernstein Profile

AllianceBernstein is a global investment management firm that offers a broad range of research-driven strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternative investments. The firm provides active and quantitative portfolio management, drawing on in-house research capabilities to serve the needs of institutional clients, private wealth investors and intermediaries. Its product lineup encompasses mutual funds, separately managed accounts and customized investment vehicles designed to meet diverse risk-return objectives.

The firm’s roots date back to 1967 with the founding of Sanford C.