By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Viawealth LLC lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,007 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,651 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 2.1% of Viawealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Permanent Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 27.9% in the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 25,275 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after buying an additional 5,516 shares in the last quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 37,054 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 22.9% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 61,540 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,206,000 after acquiring an additional 11,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.
Alphabet Stock Performance
Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $154.64 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.22 and a 52 week high of $207.05. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.10. The company has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Alphabet Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.49.
Read Our Latest Report on GOOGL
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. The trade was a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 87,992 shares of company stock worth $16,093,773. 11.55% of the stock is owned by 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.
Further Reading
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