Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s 4th Largest Position

Patten & Patten Inc. TN decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 214,815 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,162 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 2.7% of Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $40,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Alphabet Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $162.24 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.22 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $180.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. The trade was a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 104,812 shares of company stock worth $19,336,979. 11.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.59.

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.