Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Sells 127,582 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 414,956 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 127,582 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.8% of Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $78,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % 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 worth $17,374,274. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $163.99 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.22 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.65.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.59.

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.