Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Holdings Decreased by Motco

Motco lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,316 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 462 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.5% of Motco’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Motco’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.1% during the third quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. LCM Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 20,940 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 26,930 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,466,000 after buying an additional 5,045 shares during the period. Lincluden Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 50,204 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,326,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 418,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $69,368,000 after buying an additional 4,255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,882 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,130. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.62.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $162.76 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 $140.03 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $1.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $186.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.39.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio 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.