Citigroup Inc. Acquires 239,941 Shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB)

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) by 59.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 645,685 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 239,941 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in AllianceBernstein were worth $22,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,873,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $97,090,000 after acquiring an additional 234,253 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in AllianceBernstein by 12.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 878,323 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,645,000 after purchasing an additional 95,847 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 1,019.7% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 280,961 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,803,000 after buying an additional 255,868 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in AllianceBernstein by 426.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 273,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,248,000 after buying an additional 221,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 177,472 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,997,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AB. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.75 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on AllianceBernstein from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on AllianceBernstein from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AllianceBernstein stock opened at $35.73 on Wednesday. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 1-year low of $27.58 and a 1-year high of $38.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $36.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.23.

AllianceBernstein Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.77 dividend. This is an increase from AllianceBernstein’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.62%. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is presently 88.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Equitable Holdings, Inc. purchased 500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.18 per share, with a total value of $17,090,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,066,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,824,522.84. This trade represents a 19.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

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.