Walter Public Investments Inc. Sells 8,071 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Walter Public Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 157,757 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,071 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 5.4% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $30,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GenTrust LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 9,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $603,000. Simmons Bank boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 26,467 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,040,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Magnolia Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $624,000. Finally, Pointe Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $172.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.55 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The company has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $192.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.73.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total transaction of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 282,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,329,576.64. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 134,309 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,490 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

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.