Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Montag A & Associates Inc.

Montag A & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 277,130 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,309 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 2.5% of Montag A & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Montag A & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $52,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $33,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 87.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 266 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GOOG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock 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 research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.13.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 272,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,376,238.74. The trade was a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,609 shares of company stock valued at $21,809,990 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $5.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $181.58. 19,447,412 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,667,480. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $131.55 and a one year high of $208.70. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $194.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.08.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Alphabet Company 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.