Advisory Resource Group Lowers Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Advisory Resource Group trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,557 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,720 shares during the quarter. Advisory Resource Group’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,193,768,000 after purchasing an additional 5,655,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,557,486 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $17,247,208,000 after buying an additional 259,213 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,573,125,000 after buying an additional 3,113,395 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 9.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,578,793,000 after buying an additional 1,291,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,843,149,000 after acquiring an additional 264,962 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $187.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.55 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $193.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.27. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Company 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.