AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Given New $34.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) had its price objective trimmed by TD Cowen from $37.50 to $34.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America downgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.33.

AllianceBernstein Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AB traded down $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.55. 256,978 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 439,538. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.88. AllianceBernstein has a 52 week low of $30.57 and a 52 week high of $41.37. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.97.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts predict that AllianceBernstein will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is currently 112.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AB. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 29,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Second Line Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 5.9% in the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 7,907 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,071 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

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.