Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Cuts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,526 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.6% of Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,338,900 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,394,181,000 after buying an additional 51,226 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.8% during the third quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 96,001 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $16,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,147 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 7,959 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. now owns 3,792 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $186.87 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $194.37 and its 200 day moving average is $176.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.55 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,061,806 shares in the company, valued at $364,259,266.02. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.