Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Position Lessened by Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 623,095 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,584 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 3.8% of Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $118,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.2% in the third 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 during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $5,573,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113,395 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 65.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,294,332 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,052,349,000 after buying an additional 2,500,621 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 182.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,526,055 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $422,331,000 after buying an additional 1,630,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,578,793,000 after buying an additional 1,291,274 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $1,898,190.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at $59,741,643.48. This trade represents a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total value of $3,990,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $369,672,512.16. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $3.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $197.55. 21,974,853 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,381,408. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.55 and a 52 week high of $202.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's 50 day moving average is $185.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.76.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

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.