SWS Partners Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

SWS Partners trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,219 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 721 shares during the quarter. SWS Partners’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. State Street Corp boosted 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 worth $36,910,838,000 after buying an additional 743,369 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the 3rd 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 shares of Alphabet by 7.7% in the 3rd 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 shares of Alphabet by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,615,038 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $9,581,427,000 after purchasing an additional 757,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 38,451,718 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,278,910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,639 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $164.29 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $185.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.58. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.08 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

Alphabet 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.