Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Decreases Holdings in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. $AB

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lowered its position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 21.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 21,759 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC’s holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $2,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AllianceBernstein in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the second quarter worth $28,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, NFSG Corp grew its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 800.0% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 900 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AB. Evercore set a $39.00 price target on AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AllianceBernstein from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of AllianceBernstein from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AllianceBernstein stock opened at $36.79 on Tuesday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a fifty-two week low of $34.92 and a fifty-two week high of $44.11. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.71.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $887.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $907.67 million. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 25.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of AllianceBernstein stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total transaction of $185,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,573 shares in the company, valued at $913,378.41. The trade was a 16.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About AllianceBernstein

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.