Sit Investment Associates Inc. Has $52.24 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 275,963 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 23,271 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.2% of Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $52,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,383,677,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Alphabet by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,503,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042,271 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 20,990.0% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,186,748 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,171,151,000 after buying an additional 6,157,413 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 29,866,698 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,792,317,000 after buying an additional 4,694,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,667,407 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,559,240,000 after buying an additional 4,567,275 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $157.14 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,997,521.61. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 119,797 shares of company stock worth $21,089,470. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GOOGL. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.51.

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.