Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Position Reduced by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,588,908 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 289,121 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.8% of Aviva PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $683,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $550,702.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,468,029.04. This represents a 13.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,797 shares of company stock worth $21,089,470 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.65.

Alphabet Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $147.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $147.54 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $177.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.30.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.