Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 81.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,800 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 7,876 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $343,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 32.3% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 344 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total value of $6,870,532.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 121,630 shares of company stock valued at $22,258,133. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.69.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $2.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $205.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,059,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,222,196. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $189.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.54. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.55 and a 12-month high of $207.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

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.