Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 480,900 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,417,537 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 480,900 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 2.7% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.08% of Alphabet worth $1,782,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,283,594 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,871,384,000 after purchasing an additional 337,031 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 21,940 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,639,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 14.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 14,483 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,402,000 after buying an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.7% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 143,319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $23,770,000 after buying an additional 2,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nwam LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.1% during the third quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 60,187 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $145.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.38 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $175.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.81.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,797 shares of company stock valued at $21,089,470 in the last 90 days. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.