Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,252 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,463 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 2.6% of Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $29,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 104,812 shares of company stock worth $19,336,979. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $154.33 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $179.66 and a 200-day moving average of $176.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $147.22 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOGL. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.59.

Alphabet 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.