Congress Asset Management Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,025,527 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,278 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.2% of Congress Asset Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $170,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 293 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $1,898,190.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 241,752 shares of company stock valued at $40,156,829. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Alphabet from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.90.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.5 %

Alphabet stock traded down $2.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $178.88. The stock had a trading volume of 23,170,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,102,947. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $127.90 and a 12 month high of $191.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.79, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $164.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

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.