Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,317,884 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 496,272 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $631,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 266 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded down $5.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $181.58. The company had a trading volume of 19,447,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,667,480. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.55 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business's 50-day moving average is $194.22 and its 200 day moving average is $177.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the sale, the director now owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. This trade represents a 11.61 % 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 1,367 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, 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 116,609 shares of company stock valued at $21,809,990 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.13.

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.