Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Position Cut by Optimum Investment Advisors

Optimum Investment Advisors reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,273 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 797 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 2.0% of Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,843,149,000 after buying an additional 264,962 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 7.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,526 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.3% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 165,135 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,701,000 after acquiring an additional 16,807 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the third quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 9,731 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,627,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GenTrust LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 95.4% in the third quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 8,491 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 4,146 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $166.25 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $184.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.20 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet 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.