Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Position Decreased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,923,071 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 463,028 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.3% of Prudential Financial Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $937,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $1,551,533,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $19,193,768,000 after acquiring an additional 5,655,022 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 5,712.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,367,831 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $831,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,689 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,573,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $328,018,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,368 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "negative" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG traded up $2.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $172.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,791,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,844,933. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.20 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS 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, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.