Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Holdings Lowered by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,443,583 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,190 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 4.6% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $239,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 49,472,478 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,011,412,000 after acquiring an additional 238,403 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,465,190 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,274,184,000 after buying an additional 418,204 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.1% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 23,263,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,237,426,000 after buying an additional 1,949,476 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 43,005.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743,594 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,086,250,000 after buying an additional 18,700,111 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,520,067 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,191,561,000 after buying an additional 1,102,269 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $217.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 39,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,307,206.90. This trade represents a 35.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,948.46. This trade represents a 8.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,673,866. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $169.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $168.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.33. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.90 and a 52 week high of $191.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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 $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

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.