Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stake Lessened by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,034 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,254 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $20,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,555,548 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,910,838,000 after purchasing an additional 743,369 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 134,030,679 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,154,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,431 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,559,240,000 after purchasing an additional 4,567,275 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 49,857,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,268,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 37,233,079 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,175,106,000 after purchasing an additional 523,416 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 134,316 shares of company stock worth $25,062,887. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $167.01 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $190.02 and its 200-day moving average is $176.35. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid 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 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.62.

About Alphabet

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.