Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 179,350 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 925 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 3.5% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Meritage Group LP grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the third quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% during the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 301.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 522 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $167.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $149.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.12. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.97 and a fifty-two week high of $174.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total transaction of $508,150.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Alphabet news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total transaction of $508,150.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total transaction of $3,291,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,377,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $347,832,416.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 275,129 shares of company stock worth $40,382,765 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Alphabet from $141.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Alphabet from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.60.

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.