Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s Largest Position

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,243,553 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 24,839 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 5.7% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $808,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 258,172 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $49,166,000 after acquiring an additional 25,140 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 9,298 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Alphabet by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 919,090 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $175,032,000 after purchasing an additional 36,966 shares during the period. Alerus Financial NA purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,914 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $7,030,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $156.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.31. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.20 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This trade represents a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,812 shares of company stock valued at $19,336,979 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.