North Star Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

North Star Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 233,825 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,542 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 2.0% of North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $44,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,044 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $5,341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 31,967 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,088,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 5,259 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 50,426 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,603,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transform Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 40,376 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,689,000 after purchasing an additional 13,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 261,966 shares in the company, valued at $45,844,050. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 164,654 shares of company stock worth $26,793,380 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $169.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's fifty day moving average is $160.47 and its 200 day moving average is $176.61.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. The company had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.94.

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.

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