Renaissance Group LLC lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 227,170 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 8,377 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.8% of Renaissance Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Renaissance Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $43,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,283,594 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,871,384,000 after purchasing an additional 337,031 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 639,077 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $105,991,000 after acquiring an additional 118,857 shares during the period. Sassicaia Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $315,000. Stevens Capital Management LP increased its stake in Alphabet by 287.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 104,085 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,262,000 after purchasing an additional 77,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 743,369 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.
Alphabet Stock Down 1.9 %
Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $3.04 on Wednesday, hitting $153.27. The company had a trading volume of 20,614,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,220,770. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The business has a 50 day moving average of $167.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.14.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.94%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet
In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. This represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at $50,376,238.74. The trade was a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,663 shares of company stock valued at $20,286,447 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Alphabet from $229.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.46.
View Our Latest Report on GOOGL
Alphabet Company Profile
(
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Alphabet, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Alphabet wasn't on the list.
While Alphabet currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
If a company's CEO, COO, and CFO were all selling shares of their stock, would you want to know? MarketBeat just compiled its list of the twelve stocks that corporate insiders are abandoning. Complete the form below to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
