Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 31.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,417 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,919 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,642,000 after acquiring an additional 14,738 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $927,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Alphabet by 172.9% during the third quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 91,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,254,000 after acquiring an additional 57,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $158.88 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $179.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.70. 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 capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction 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 approximately $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 88,665 shares of company stock worth $16,198,310. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GOOG. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Westpark Capital began coverage on Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.65.

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.