Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Senator Investment Group LP

Senator Investment Group LP reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,000 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Senator Investment Group LP's holdings in Alphabet were worth $23,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the period. North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $281,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 140.6% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 14,734 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,806,000 after buying an additional 8,610 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $927,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Alphabet by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,184,399 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,384,039,000 after acquiring an additional 704,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $3.75 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $161.47. 30,331,145 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,463,265. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $165.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.19. The company has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.77. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOG. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a "negative" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,997,521.61. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,163 shares of company stock valued at $25,361,647. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.