Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 27.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 821,363 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 316,005 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in Alphabet were worth $156,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,843,149,000 after purchasing an additional 264,962 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $166,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Stansberry Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.9% in the third quarter. Stansberry Asset Management LLC now owns 1,557 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $133,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.65.

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Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $4.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.74. The stock had a trading volume of 39,777,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,028,653. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.54 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The company's 50-day moving average price is $177.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.30. 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 $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 119,797 shares of company stock worth $21,089,470. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

About Alphabet

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.