Castellan Group Lowers Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Castellan Group reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,990 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Castellan Group’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOGL. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research increased their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. China Renaissance raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $206.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,802 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.47, for a total value of $2,780,226.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,280,514.53. The trade was a 27.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,957 shares of company stock worth $31,358,687. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $188.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.66 and a 52-week high of $201.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $173.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.21.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

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.