Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,468 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 284 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.1% of Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $78,839,544,000 after acquiring an additional 14,307,345 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 11.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 43,865,520 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,783,364,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473,901 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,648,514 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,749,806,000 after purchasing an additional 593,345 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,792,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,153,481,000 after purchasing an additional 727,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 38,556,577 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,962,389,000 after buying an additional 104,859 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $276.41 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $292.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 36.08% and a net margin of 32.23%.The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on GOOGL. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $343.00 price objective (up from $280.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $304.10.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.92, for a total transaction of $145,752.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,778.72. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 221,796 shares of company stock worth $53,983,001 in the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet 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.