Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,440 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 410,954 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,440 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.5% of Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $77,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.7 %

Alphabet stock opened at $162.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $183.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.37. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.90 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock worth $17,374,274. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.59.

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.