NZS Capital LLC Sells 112,835 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

NZS Capital LLC lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 924,120 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 112,835 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 7.5% of NZS Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. NZS Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $175,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,843,149,000 after buying an additional 264,962 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $166,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 13,575 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,270,000 after buying an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new position in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Finally, Advisory Resource Group increased its position in Alphabet by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 10,277 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, 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 have sold 148,053 shares of company stock worth $25,339,647 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $2.51 on Thursday, hitting $163.40. 11,109,711 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,173,173. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $162.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Westpark Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $200.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.94.

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.