Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 361,349 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,282 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.3% of Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $68,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 20,990.0% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,186,748 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,171,151,000 after buying an additional 6,157,413 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position 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 worth $10,559,240,000 after purchasing an additional 4,567,275 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $513,024,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $22,154,651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Alphabet by 26.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 10,064,598 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,669,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136,128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $160.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.08 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $184.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.56. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.03.

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.