Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Guild Investment Management Inc.

Guild Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 3.3% of Guild Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Guild Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,551,533,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,193,768,000 after purchasing an additional 5,655,022 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 5,712.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,367,831 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $831,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,689 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,573,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113,395 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Alphabet by 182.1% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,526,055 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $422,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 97,182 shares of company stock valued at $18,192,354. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of GOOG opened at $165.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $188.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.08. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.21 and a 52 week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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.