Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Position Trimmed by Forbes J M & Co. LLP

Forbes J M & Co. LLP reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 219,202 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,807 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 3.6% of Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $33,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 493,810,251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $68,980,354,000 after buying an additional 6,374,756 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 227,317,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,746,764,000 after buying an additional 12,070,681 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $15,441,917,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Alphabet by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,684,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,857,154,000 after buying an additional 2,416,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 45,220,857 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,316,902,000 after buying an additional 1,472,043 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $179.63 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $170.05 and a 200-day moving average of $152.72. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.35 and a 52-week high of $180.85.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $176.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Alphabet from $164.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total value of $105,566.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,870.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 12,084 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.19, for a total transaction of $1,826,979.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,365,523.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.79, for a total transaction of $105,566.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,284 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,870.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 158,458 shares of company stock valued at $26,375,053 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.55% 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.