AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,127,543 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 180% from the previous session’s volume of 402,136 shares.The stock last traded at $38.03 and had previously closed at $38.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AB. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $45.00 price objective on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of AllianceBernstein from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $38.50 in a report 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 on the stock in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.75.

AllianceBernstein Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.25.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The asset manager reported $1.05 EPS 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%. On average, analysts expect that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.05%. This is a boost from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is presently 112.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AllianceBernstein

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AB. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 288,032 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,683,000 after buying an additional 7,071 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in AllianceBernstein by 59.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 645,685 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $22,528,000 after acquiring an additional 239,941 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter valued at about $290,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in AllianceBernstein during the fourth quarter worth about $277,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein during the 4th quarter valued at about $264,000. 19.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.