Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 1,683,955 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,008,935 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,683,955 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 2.5% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,219,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,283,594 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,871,384,000 after buying an additional 337,031 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 213,673 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,438,000 after buying an additional 4,522 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 224,437 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,223,000 after buying an additional 13,799 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 141,204 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $23,419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. This trade represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,812 shares of company stock worth $19,336,979 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $154.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $179.66 and its 200-day moving average is $176.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $147.22 and a 12 month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.59.

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.