Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,371,758 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 109,011 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.0% of Cerity Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $440,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in Alphabet by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 14,423 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.65.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total transaction of $284,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,142,195.20. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $550,702.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,847 shares in the company, valued at $3,468,029.04. This represents a 13.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,797 shares of company stock valued at $21,089,470 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of GOOG opened at $147.74 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $177.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.70 and a 1-year high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

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.