Warwick Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Warwick Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,517 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Warwick Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 287.9% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 225 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG stock opened at $165.98 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.21 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on GOOG shares. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,529,987.28. This represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 97,182 shares of company stock worth $18,192,354. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.