Avalon Trust Co Reduces Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Avalon Trust Co lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 459,850 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,310 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 5.9% of Avalon Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $64,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 95,941,129 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,649,838,000 after buying an additional 9,703,425 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,600,970,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 120,234,117 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,852,868,000 after buying an additional 4,348,188 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 198.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,882,882 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $547,215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,583,128 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 93.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,591,383 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $647,064,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.67.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,767,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,353,938. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.70 and a 12-month high of $176.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $151.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.74.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total transaction of $3,753,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,280,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $380,389,234.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total value of $369,096.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,402.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.80, for a total transaction of $3,753,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,280,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $380,389,234.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 275,129 shares of company stock worth $40,382,765 in the last three months. Corporate 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.