Colonial Trust Advisors Has $9.19 Million Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Colonial Trust Advisors lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,245 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,197 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors' holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,843,149,000 after purchasing an additional 264,962 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $166,000. Financial Avengers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $14,936,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 35,066 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,863,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the period. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $160.99. The stock had a trading volume of 8,713,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,379,557. The company has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,297 shares of company stock worth $20,804,770. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet 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.