Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,483,564 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,350,046 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.4% of Nuveen Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Alphabet worth $5,013,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,383,677,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,025,322,000 after buying an additional 22,100,902 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Alphabet by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,178,470,000 after acquiring an additional 10,135,430 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Alphabet by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,635,878,000 after acquiring an additional 10,037,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,503,291,000 after acquiring an additional 9,042,271 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 179,324 shares of company stock worth $30,153,353. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock traded up $2.23 on Friday, hitting $166.19. 42,579,974 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,058,815. The firm's 50 day moving average is $158.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.03. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group set a $195.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Alphabet from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.75.

About Alphabet

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.