Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Position Lessened by Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC

Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,766 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 3.8% of Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Pinnacle Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,991,725 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $22,470,344,000 after buying an additional 3,189,592 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 104,777,092 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,894,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,606 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Alphabet by 6.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 7,917,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Alphabet by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,148,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,455,571,000 after purchasing an additional 294,556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $171.98 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $160.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.63.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.90, for a total value of $5,066,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,652,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $413,555,306.40. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,054 shares of company stock worth $17,722,605. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on GOOG. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.94.

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.