Fiduciary Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Fiduciary Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 168,947 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 434 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.2% of Fiduciary Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $32,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 287.9% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 225 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.2 %

GOOG opened at $166.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.67 and a 52 week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend 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.