Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Sells 1,500 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,530 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 266 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,529,987.28. This trade represents a 6.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total value of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 23,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,007,191.15. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,299 shares of company stock worth $25,055,751 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.2 %

Alphabet stock opened at $181.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $193.68 and a 200 day moving average of $177.58. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $131.55 and a one year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 9.94%.

Alphabet Company Profile

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.