Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $30.41 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,662 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 820 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.1% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $30,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 287.9% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 225 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $172.61 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.55 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. The trade was a 8.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,529,987.28. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,316 shares of company stock worth $25,062,887 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.