Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stake Lessened by Absher Wealth Management LLC

Absher Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 124,726 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 12,781 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 3.1% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $23,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Denver PWM LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $185.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $192.85 and its 200-day moving average is $175.14. The firm has a market cap of $2.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $3,975,075.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,061,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,259,266.02. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. China Renaissance raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.62.

Alphabet Company 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.