Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Reduced by Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 395,796 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 23,040 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 3.9% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $75,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $1,551,533,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 181,679.1% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,376,066,000 after buying an additional 7,221,746 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,193,768,000 after buying an additional 5,655,022 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 5,712.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,367,831 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $831,810,000 after buying an additional 4,292,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,573,125,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113,395 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.7 %

GOOG stock opened at $172.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.20 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.44.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

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.