Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Trimmed by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 338,570 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,793 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.3% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $64,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 9,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Alphabet by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $193.17. 20,731,024 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,929,918. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $183.71 and a 200-day moving average of $174.52. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.55 and a 52 week high of $202.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The business's revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,834 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $473,929.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,406,343.27. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock valued at $27,996,356 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.56.

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.