RedJay Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

RedJay Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,000 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 4.6% of RedJay Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. RedJay Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,119,000. Optivise Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its position in Alphabet by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 46,173 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $8,741,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its position in Alphabet by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 61,792 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $11,816,000 after purchasing an additional 14,262 shares during the period. Finally, Absolute Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Absolute Capital Management LLC now owns 2,096 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $4.43 on Tuesday, reaching $172.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 37,917,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,780,742. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.76. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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 yield of 0.49%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,181,333.08. The trade was a 19.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 164,654 shares of company stock worth $26,793,380 in the last 90 days. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wedbush set a $190.00 target price on shares of Alphabet and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.75.

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.