Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Palogic Value Management L.P.

Palogic Value Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,638 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 2.7% of Palogic Value Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Palogic Value Management L.P.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GOOG. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three 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 target price of $209.13.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total value of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at $50,376,238.74. This trade represents a 9.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $165.05 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $184.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.01 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a market cap of $2.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.