Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,841 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 525 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Totem Point Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 22.0% in the first quarter. Totem Point Management LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $8,857,000 after buying an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Somerville Kurt F increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.3% in the first quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 118 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,564,000. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 53.2% in the first quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 144 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.8% during the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 3,370 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $9,412,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $155.72 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $103.27 and a 52 week high of $161.70. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced 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 return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total value of $6,597,125.94. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.86.

Alphabet 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.