Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Holdings Lessened by Professional Advisory Services Inc.

Professional Advisory Services Inc. cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,224 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 45,466 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 4.9% of Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Professional Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Beck Bode LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 7.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 56.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 438,366 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $80,405,000 after acquiring an additional 157,453 shares in the last quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 23,516 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,313,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Finally, Elite Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 33.1% during the second quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. now owns 46,609 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,549,000 after purchasing an additional 11,602 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.6 %

Alphabet stock opened at $197.55 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $185.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.99. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.55 and a 52 week high of $202.88. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. 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%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total transaction of $3,990,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,084,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,672,512.16. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,387 shares of company stock valued at $24,368,654 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 price objective for the company. Six 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

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.