Patten Group Inc. Has $3.53 Million Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Patten Group Inc. lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,535 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 535 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.8% of Patten Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. M&G PLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth $2,240,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,642,000 after buying an additional 14,738 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 301,980 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $50,488,000 after buying an additional 4,292 shares during the period. Finally, Requisite Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $927,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $174.99 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $131.95 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.91. 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 earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total transaction of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at $52,329,576.64. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total transaction of $291,330.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,529,987.28. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,316 shares of company stock worth $25,062,887. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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 set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

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.