Franklin Resources Inc. Has $3.81 Billion Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,987,443 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 375,247 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.1% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.16% of Alphabet worth $3,806,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,368 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $262,040.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,961,445.55. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 87,992 shares of company stock worth $16,097,111 in the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $156.06 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.20 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.56.

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.