Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,273,762 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,549,286 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 2.2% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.30% of Alphabet worth $7,055,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bennett Selby Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,354 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,845 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.8 %

GOOGL traded up $4.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $157.14. 33,590,459 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,213,740. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The stock's 50-day moving average is $168.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 119,797 shares of company stock worth $21,089,470 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Wedbush lifted their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Westpark Capital upgraded Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.51.

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.