Giverny Capital Inc. Sells 90,181 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Giverny Capital Inc. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 256,523 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 90,181 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.8% of Giverny Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Giverny Capital Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $48,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,997,521.61. This represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. 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. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $151.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.88. 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 one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.74.

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.