Kensington Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,582 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,351 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.4% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,555,548 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $36,910,838,000 after buying an additional 743,369 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 134,030,679 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,154,651,000 after buying an additional 2,626,431 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Alphabet by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,559,240,000 after buying an additional 4,567,275 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,615,038 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,581,427,000 after acquiring an additional 757,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 38,451,718 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,278,910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.
Alphabet Trading Down 0.0 %
GOOGL traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $157.04. The stock had a trading volume of 24,682,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,382,781. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $147.22 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $177.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.95.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. DZ Bank cut Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.49.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Alphabet
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 88,665 shares of company stock valued at $16,198,310. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Alphabet
(
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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