Martin Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Martin Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,426 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. Martin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 8,597 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after acquiring an additional 2,952 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 239,811 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,670,000 after purchasing an additional 6,506 shares during the period. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $3,651,000. Allie Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Allie Family Office LLC now owns 5,198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Finally, Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $410,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $158.88 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.20 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,961,445.55. This trade represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 88,665 shares of company stock valued at $16,198,310. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.65.

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.