Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stock Position Lessened by Knuff & Co LLC

Knuff & Co LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,040 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 990 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 2.7% of Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 56,581 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,775,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 540,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $102,855,000 after purchasing an additional 14,375 shares in the last quarter. Saturna Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Summit X LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit X LLC now owns 11,572 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,204,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 66,889 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total value of $291,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,324 shares in the company, valued at $4,529,987.28. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,182 shares of company stock worth $18,192,354. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $165.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $188.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.21 and a 1 year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Benchmark reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

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.