Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by CSM Advisors LLC

CSM Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,035 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,785 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 2.0% of CSM Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. CSM Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $30,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.7 %

GOOG stock opened at $153.90 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $165.77 and a 200-day moving average of $177.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 272,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64 % 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, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,163 shares of company stock worth $25,361,647. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.

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