Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,960,091 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 30,260 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.5% of Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $373,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Alphabet Stock Up 1.8 %
Shares of GOOG opened at $169.00 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $188.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.01 and a 52 week high of $208.70.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 9.94%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.13.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on GOOG
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,834 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,682 shares of company stock valued at $17,901,024. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Alphabet Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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