AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Stock Price Passes Below 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)’s share price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $38.42 and traded as low as $37.27. AllianceBernstein shares last traded at $37.5990, with a volume of 208,834 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AB. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut AllianceBernstein from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Evercore set a $39.00 price objective on AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded AllianceBernstein from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.70.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 0.8%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.81.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.04). AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 23.11% and a net margin of 6.69%.The company had revenue of $871.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $894.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.6%. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is currently 102.15%.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in AllianceBernstein by 21.1% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,635 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 378.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,671 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 5.0% during the first quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 26,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AllianceBernstein in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 5.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 115,126 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,311,000 after acquiring an additional 6,263 shares during the period. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.