GDS Wealth Management Decreases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

GDS Wealth Management lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,895 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.73, for a total transaction of $119,784.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,072,665.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,629 shares of company stock worth $37,091,240. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.2 %

GOOG stock traded down $1.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $169.59. 4,157,996 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,311,477. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.93 and a 1 year high of $176.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 12.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GOOG. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.67.

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.