Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Optas LLC

Optas LLC cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,855 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 312 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.8% of Optas LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Optas LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 18,062 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 62,452 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,358,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 72,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,057,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Partners grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 34.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stevens Capital Partners now owns 1,544 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 25,811 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,281,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $172.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.08. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.90 and a 12-month high of $191.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total value of $3,442,233.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,334 shares in the company, valued at $6,307,206.90. This trade represents a 35.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,471,141 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho raised their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. China Renaissance upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.90.

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.