PineStone Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

PineStone Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 34.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,653,283 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,418,914 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 7.4% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $771,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,230 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,279,000 after acquiring an additional 41,880 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 31,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.0% in the first quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 15,356 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 37,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,623,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CapWealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2,209.9% in the first quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 39,246 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,923,000 after purchasing an additional 37,547 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $181.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.88 and a 200-day moving average of $169.91. The company has a market cap of $2.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.90 and a 52 week high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.66, for a total transaction of $3,772,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,159,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,126,319.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 241,752 shares of company stock valued at $40,156,829. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.