Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Polen Capital Management LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Polen Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,076,271 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,744,739 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 5.7% of Polen Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Polen Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Alphabet worth $2,109,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $167.62 on Monday. 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 cap of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $187.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.13 and a 52 week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

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.