Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 988 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,467 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 988 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Alphabet by 9.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 87,716,562 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,355,724,000 after purchasing an additional 7,470,042 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 84,171,721 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,815,986,000 after buying an additional 13,876,534 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 45,731,826 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,963,128,000 after buying an additional 979,083 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,558,778 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,414,179,000 after acquiring an additional 684,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Alphabet by 4.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,657,421 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,688,743,000 after acquiring an additional 636,008 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $1.99 during trading on Thursday, hitting $178.50. 1,817,067 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,500,574. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $166.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.57. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.40 and a 52-week high of $193.31. The company has a market cap of $2.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,820,779.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,835 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $429,587.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,421,948.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total value of $75,437.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,820,779.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 207,495 shares of company stock valued at $34,586,641. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.