Newport Capital Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Newport Capital Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,859 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 232 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.8% of Newport Capital Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Newport Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 17.0% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 33,751 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,598,000 after buying an additional 4,905 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 27.9% during the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 25,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 5,516 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.7% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 6,305,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,037,196,000 after purchasing an additional 611,233 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 22.9% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 61,540 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,481 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. DZ Bank downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.62.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $175.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.14. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.66 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 134,299 shares of company stock valued at $25,055,751. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.