Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Decreases Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,243,553 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 24,839 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 5.7% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $808,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 258,172 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $49,166,000 after buying an additional 25,140 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 9,298 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 919,090 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $175,032,000 after purchasing an additional 36,966 shares in the last quarter. Alerus Financial NA purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,914 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.56.

Alphabet Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $156.06 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.20 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $181.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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 $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.