Sigma Planning Corp Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 38.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,771 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 43,202 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.8% of Sigma Planning Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 16,690 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,331,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RAM Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 3.4 %

GOOGL stock opened at $166.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.71 and a twelve month high of $174.71.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on Alphabet from $168.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on Alphabet from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Alphabet from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Alphabet from $155.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.44.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 253,209 shares of company stock worth $36,711,144. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.