AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI reissued their buy rating on shares of AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a $38.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on AllianceBernstein in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $39.95.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AB opened at $35.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.84. AllianceBernstein has a 12-month low of $25.83 and a 12-month high of $35.67.

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

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.10%. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is currently 117.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AllianceBernstein

In other news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. purchased 500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $104,824,522.84. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. purchased 500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $34.18 per share, for a total transaction of $17,090,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 3,066,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,824,522.84. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $139,480.00. Following the transaction, 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 company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AB. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in AllianceBernstein by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,975 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Karpas Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.2% in the first quarter. Karpas Strategies LLC now owns 18,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.6% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 29,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 8.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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.