Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Morse Asset Management Inc

Morse Asset Management Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 83,508 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,049 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 3.0% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Alphabet by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total transaction of $291,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,987.28. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 37,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.02, for a total transaction of $6,870,532.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 282,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,329,576.64. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 198,623 shares of company stock worth $34,413,006 over the last quarter. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $189.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $171.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.71. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.68 and a 12-month high of $195.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.08.

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.