Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,452 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,105 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 4.4% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beck Bode LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 7.1% during the second quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 67,523 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,385,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Merriman Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 21.3% during the second quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,524 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 11.1% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,144,221 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $209,873,000 after acquiring an additional 113,916 shares during the last quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,983 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,203,000 after purchasing an additional 9,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 153,311 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,120,000 after purchasing an additional 11,998 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.6 %

GOOG stock traded up $3.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $197.55. The stock had a trading volume of 21,974,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,381,408. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.55 and a 1-year high of $202.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is 10.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,367 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.42, for a total value of $234,331.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $4,516,745.58. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total transaction of $1,898,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 330,466 shares in the company, valued at $59,741,643.48. The trade was a 3.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654 in the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on Alphabet in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $212.00 target price for the company. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.56.

Alphabet 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.