Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Increases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,328 shares of the information services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,545 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.6% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,882 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,130. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOGL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DZ Bank downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.62.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $165.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.38. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.03 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

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.