Westchester Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,230 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 112,995 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,230 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.2% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Council Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Alphabet by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Financial Council Asset Management Inc now owns 5,740 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $100,000. Essex LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Essex LLC now owns 28,000 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,911,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,660 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, Genesee Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $154.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $146.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.54. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.63 and a 52 week high of $160.22.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total value of $127,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,275,043.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,548,095.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $166.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.41.

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.