CWA Asset Management Group LLC Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 157,179 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 819 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.2% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,166,070,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 18,562.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,237,733,000 after buying an additional 14,246,573 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $1,551,533,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Alphabet by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 181,679.1% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,376,066,000 after acquiring an additional 7,221,746 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $5,483,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,587,696 shares in the company, valued at $436,570,192.16. This represents a 1.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,570 shares of company stock valued at $32,003,532. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $173.98 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $165.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.42. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.88.

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.