Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by HS Management Partners LLC

HS Management Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 446,724 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 104,905 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.8% of HS Management Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. HS Management Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $85,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Black Swift Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Black Swift Group LLC now owns 4,479 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $1,551,533,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $286,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $699,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 1,462,450 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $278,509,000 after purchasing an additional 7,668 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This represents a 8.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 134,316 shares of company stock worth $25,062,887 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $175.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.80 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 50 day moving average of $189.85 and a 200-day moving average of $177.94.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

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.