Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 23,385 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 173,962 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 23,385 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $33,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.65.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,521.61. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,797 shares of company stock valued at $21,089,470 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.0 %

GOOG opened at $149.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $176.15 and a 200-day moving average of $178.45. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 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.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.