Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Mendel Money Management

Mendel Money Management trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,805 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,725 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 3.0% of Mendel Money Management’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Mendel Money Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Core Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,525 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 30,211 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,753,000 after purchasing an additional 4,127 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 61,484 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $11,709,000 after buying an additional 26,162 shares in the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 475 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 20,942 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $172.79 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $183.56 and a 200-day moving average of $178.44. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.20 and a 52-week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274 over the last ninety days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GOOG. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

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.