Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,929 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,120 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.5% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $22,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Blue Edge Capital LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Edge Capital LLC now owns 43,494 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,233,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 2,749,016 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $520,389,000 after acquiring an additional 19,238 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $162,000. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC now owns 688,622 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $130,356,000 after acquiring an additional 36,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,067,075 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $391,321,000 after purchasing an additional 86,421 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $156.31 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOGL. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Alphabet from $184.00 to $167.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Alphabet from $208.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $229.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.72.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total transaction of $32,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,232,544.70. The trade was a 2.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total transaction of $3,281,671.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,521.61. The trade was a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,663 shares of company stock worth $20,286,447. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Company 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.