Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Geneva Capital Management LLC

Geneva Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,132 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 869 shares during the quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Alphabet by 518.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.59.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $163.89 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.74 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $183.75 and its 200-day moving average is $176.47. 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 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274 in the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.