Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Lessened by Beacon Financial Advisory LLC

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,924 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 255 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Montis Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 7,757 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 29,115 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,868,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.5% during the third quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 163,875 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $27,398,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 8.0% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 14,896 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 78.6% during the third quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 5,502 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value 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. Insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $187.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.55 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $193.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.13.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced 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 anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.