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

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 314,035 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 10,016 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for about 1.7% of Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $59,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $167.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.73. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $147.22 and a 1 year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $262,040.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOGL. Wolfe Research raised their price objective 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. DZ Bank cut Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.