Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 288,175 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,168,200 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 288,175 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.1% of Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.19% of Alphabet worth $3,821,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $2.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $191.41. The company had a trading volume of 62,697,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,725,518. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $201.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company 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 earned $1.55 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,834 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total transaction of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,529,987.28. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 178,957 shares of company stock worth $31,358,687. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.69.

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.