Everence Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Everence Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,790 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 31,930 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 1.5% of Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $23,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $239,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Alphabet by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 93,970 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $17,789,000 after purchasing an additional 11,834 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South grew its stake in Alphabet by 35.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 5,045 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Alphabet by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,303 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JMP Securities cut shares of Alphabet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.44.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,531.55. This trade 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, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,519 shares of company stock worth $27,734,316 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.0 %

GOOGL stock traded up $1.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $191.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,784,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,296,021. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $179.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.40. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.66 and a twelve month high of $201.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 10.61%.

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.