Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC Sells 3,130 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,540 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,130 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.4% of Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Norman Fields Gottscho Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 22,100,902 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,383,677,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.3% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 7,574,417 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 72,033,086 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,635,878,000 after buying an additional 10,037,685 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,178,470,000 after acquiring an additional 10,135,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 261,966 shares in the company, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,192,275. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 164,654 shares of company stock valued at $26,793,380 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $172.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.73. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.