Buffington Mohr McNeal Cuts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Buffington Mohr McNeal decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,110 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,942 shares during the quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Marietta Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 87,910 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,289,000 after buying an additional 6,575 shares during the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 133,046 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $18,585,000 after acquiring an additional 9,112 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 10,847 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 26,176 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Finally, First American Trust FSB grew its holdings in Alphabet by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 199,764 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $27,905,000 after purchasing an additional 8,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $158.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.63 and a 12-month high of $160.22. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.93.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.77 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock valued at $36,377,482 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOGL. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $144.00 to $141.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Alphabet from $166.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.71.

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.