Austin Asset Management Co Inc Has $415,000 Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Austin Asset Management Co Inc lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,180 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 564 shares during the quarter. Austin Asset Management Co Inc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 114,802,133 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $19,193,768,000 after purchasing an additional 5,655,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,557,486 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $17,247,208,000 after purchasing an additional 259,213 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,573,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113,395 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,424,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,578,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,024,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,843,149,000 after purchasing an additional 264,962 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.67, for a total transaction of $3,975,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,061,806 shares in the company, valued at $364,259,266.02. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock valued at $16,600,078 over the last three months. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $187.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.55 and a 52 week high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.27.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on GOOG shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.13.

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.