Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Buffington Mohr McNeal

Buffington Mohr McNeal reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,110 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,942 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 227,317,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $29,746,764,000 after acquiring an additional 12,070,681 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 4,894.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,445,396 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,606,670,000 after purchasing an additional 5,336,359 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter valued at approximately $634,465,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $601,545,000. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth approximately $407,367,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $158.26 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.63 and a 12 month high of $160.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.93.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $86.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total transaction of $3,291,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $347,832,416.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total value of $3,291,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,377,691 shares in the company, valued at $347,832,416.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.