ProVise Management Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

ProVise Management Group LLC reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,553 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,516 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.2% of ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bennett Selby Investments LP lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,354 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Macroview Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,845 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.59.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $154.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $147.22 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $179.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.92.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 272,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. The trade was a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.