Taurus Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 252,086 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,611 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 4.7% of Taurus Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Taurus Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $48,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark restated a "negative" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.71.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on GOOG
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 115,663 shares of company stock valued at $20,286,447. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Alphabet Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded down $3.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $155.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,903,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,400,727. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $169.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.83.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.
Alphabet Company Profile
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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.
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