Ceera Investments LLC Has $8.57 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Ceera Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,697 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 3.2% of Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 70.6% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,230 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,279,000 after acquiring an additional 41,880 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 31,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 11,898 shares during the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 11,147,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,682,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,500 shares during the period. Finally, Oxford Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $2,529,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOOGL. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total transaction of $3,442,233.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. This represents a 35.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.68, for a total transaction of $3,570,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,137,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,160,251.80. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $168.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.33. The company has a market cap of $2.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.90 and a twelve month high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Alphabet Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.