Focus Financial Network Inc. Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Focus Financial Network Inc. lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,313 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,637 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bennett Selby Investments LP lifted its position in Alphabet by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,354 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,845 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Denver PWM LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 25.4% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 15,078 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,892,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,299 shares of company stock worth $25,055,751 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $179.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.66 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $192.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Alphabet Company 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.