Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Purchases 45,413 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its position in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 175.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,287 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 45,413 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of AllianceBernstein worth $2,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AB. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AllianceBernstein in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 1.4 %

AB opened at $37.07 on Monday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 12-month low of $30.57 and a 12-month high of $41.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.50.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.18. AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 17.88%. As a group, analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.33%. This is a positive change from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 112.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AB shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 target price on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen cut shares of AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $38.50 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein 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.