Avalon Trust Co Sells 1,059 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Avalon Trust Co lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 438,067 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,059 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 5.9% of Avalon Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $83,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidemark LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $5,744,000. Choate Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 223,813 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,630,000 after acquiring an additional 10,220 shares in the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 7,893.6% during the 4th quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 187,850 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $35,774,000 after acquiring an additional 185,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 12,226 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,328,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 95,882 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,130. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $167.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.13 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $187.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.00. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

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.