Financial Avengers Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Financial Avengers Inc. cut its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,127 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 8.0% of Financial Avengers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Financial Avengers Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,166,070,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,551,533,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,873,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 181,679.1% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,376,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,221,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $17,376,706,000 after purchasing an additional 5,758,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $165.32 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.66. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,744 shares of company stock valued at $20,968,366. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.94.

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.