Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Weitz Investment Management Inc.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 518,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 48,275 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.1% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $98,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,166,070,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,551,533,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 181,679.1% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 7,225,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,376,066,000 after acquiring an additional 7,221,746 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 5,712.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,367,831 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $831,810,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $328,018,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GOOG. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Westpark Capital initiated coverage on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 88,665 shares of company stock worth $16,198,310 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $158.88 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.20 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $179.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) 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 net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.