Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,675 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 21,982 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.7% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 287.9% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 225 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 272,466 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total transaction of $270,787.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 97,182 shares of company stock valued at $18,192,354 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOG opened at $167.81 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $189.36 and a 200-day moving average of $178.09. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.07 and a 1-year high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

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, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

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.