Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by LWM Advisory Services LLC

LWM Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,565 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.1% of LWM Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. LWM Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,193,768,000 after acquiring an additional 5,655,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,557,486 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,247,208,000 after purchasing an additional 259,213 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew 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 worth $5,573,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113,395 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,578,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,843,149,000 after purchasing an additional 264,962 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total transaction of $6,870,532.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 282,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,329,576.64. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,299 shares of company stock worth $25,055,751 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 2.1 %

GOOG stock opened at $177.37 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $131.55 and a one year high of $208.70. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $193.29 and its 200 day moving average is $177.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.