Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Triple Frond Partners LLC’s Largest Position

Triple Frond Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 807,314 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 29,536 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 19.9% of Triple Frond Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Triple Frond Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $153,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Prospect Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $350,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 367.3% in the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,752 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,445,000 after buying an additional 60,327 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $360,000. Barnett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 2,160 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Grantvest Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $301,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $169.93 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.20 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $183.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is currently 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.