Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 14,832 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 962,847 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 14,832 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.6% of Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $182,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bennett Selby Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 1,354 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Conrad Siegel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,845 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.16, for a total value of $5,075,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,685,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,320,207.36. This represents a 1.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total transaction of $529,302.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,815,948.32. This trade represents a 15.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,824 shares of company stock valued at $25,086,603 over the last three months. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $164.21 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $160.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.50. The company has a market cap of $1.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.46.

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.