Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Lountzis Asset Management LLC

Lountzis Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,720 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 340 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.5% of Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 266 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,191.15. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 134,299 shares of company stock valued at $25,055,751. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $181.58 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $194.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.45. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $131.55 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.