Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Reduces Stake in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. $AB

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC cut its stake in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 21.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,479 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 21,759 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned about 0.09% of AllianceBernstein worth $2,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in AllianceBernstein by 17,664.8% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,640,896 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $140,102,000 after buying an additional 3,620,401 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,412,548 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,355,000 after acquiring an additional 624,270 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,114,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 499,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $19,209,000 after purchasing an additional 5,364 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 348,853 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,422,000 after purchasing an additional 12,351 shares during the period. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

Shares of AB opened at $36.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.80. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1 year low of $34.92 and a 1 year high of $44.11. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.71.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The asset manager reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $887.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $907.67 million. AllianceBernstein had a return on equity of 25.94% and a net margin of 6.60%.The company’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. AllianceBernstein’s dividend payout ratio is 97.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AB has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore set a $39.00 target price on AllianceBernstein in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered AllianceBernstein from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research raised AllianceBernstein from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two 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, AllianceBernstein currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.50.

Insider Activity at AllianceBernstein

In other news, Director Charles G.T. Stonehill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $185,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $913,378.41. This trade represents a 16.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AllianceBernstein 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.