Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,592 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,196 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Denver PWM LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. China Renaissance upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $3,975,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,061,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,259,266.02. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $185.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.66 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

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.