Insider Selling: AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Director Sells $185,850.00 in Stock

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total transaction of $185,850.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

AB stock opened at $37.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.23. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 52-week low of $34.92 and a 52-week high of $44.11.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The asset manager reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $887.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $907.67 million. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 25.94% and a net margin of 6.60%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 97.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AB. Zacks Research upgraded AllianceBernstein from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Evercore set a $39.00 price target on AllianceBernstein in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AB. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 1,243.9% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 218,727 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,417,000 after purchasing an additional 202,451 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in AllianceBernstein by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 165,739 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,378,000 after purchasing an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 114.6% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 74,211 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,778,000 after purchasing an additional 39,636 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter worth about $1,491,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter worth about $1,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

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.