Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Lowers Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 249,387 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 6,481 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.5% of Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $43,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth about $4,317,606,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $78,839,544,000 after buying an additional 14,307,345 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,783,364,000 after buying an additional 4,473,901 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Alphabet by 11.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 33,403,871 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,034,992,000 after buying an additional 3,537,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 178.3% in the first quarter. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. now owns 4,003,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $619,163,000 after buying an additional 2,565,400 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total transaction of $7,466,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,219,089.16. The trade was a 1.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,635,348.70. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 221,796 shares of company stock valued at $53,983,001. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $276.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $257.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $292.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 36.08%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $280.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $306.00 price target (up from $255.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Alphabet from $260.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $304.10.

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.