Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,733 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 248,416,916 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,025,322,000 after acquiring an additional 22,100,902 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $24,383,677,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 98,638,127 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $18,672,198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,574,417 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $13,635,878,000 after purchasing an additional 10,037,685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,178,470,000 after buying an additional 10,135,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $166.54 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. DZ Bank downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.75.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21% 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, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 129,744 shares of company stock valued at $20,968,366 over the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.