Greystone Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Greystone Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,296 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 387 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $172.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $188.59 and a 200 day moving average of $176.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $131.61 and a one year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released 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 net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. DZ Bank cut shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.62.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,606,213.28. This represents a 8.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,316 shares of company stock valued at $25,062,887 over the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently 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.