Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Sells 581,511 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,879,669 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 581,511 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.8% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $548,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,338,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,394,181,000 after purchasing an additional 51,226 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,843,149,000 after purchasing an additional 264,962 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 306,458 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $51,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718 shares during the period. Parthenon LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% during the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 139,346 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $23,297,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.0% during the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 38,858 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $164.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $187.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.13 and a 1 year high of $208.70. 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:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % 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, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total transaction of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,882 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,130 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

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.