Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Acquired by Clarkston Capital Partners LLC

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,720 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $147.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $177.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $147.54 and a 12-month high of $208.70. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,797 shares of company stock worth $21,089,470. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.