Northwest Bancshares Inc. Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,875 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,681 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,191.15. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total value of $3,614,175.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,114,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,713,977.55. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 163,624 shares of company stock worth $27,803,730. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $171.34 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $168.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.26. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.90 and a twelve month high of $191.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GOOGL. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90.

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.