Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stake Reduced by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 394,504 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 21,999 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.7% of Gotham Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $74,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its stake in Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total transaction of $5,374,012.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,376,238.74. This represents a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at $430,917,877.76. This trade represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 179,324 shares of company stock valued at $30,153,353 in the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. DZ Bank cut shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $198.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Alphabet from $205.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.75.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded up $5.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $158.46. 44,064,211 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 28,840,151. 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 $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.93 and a 200-day moving average of $175.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

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.