Fisher Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,685,062 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 331,249 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 2.6% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Alphabet worth $6,465,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Gimbal Financial boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gimbal Financial now owns 2,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% in the second quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 16,916 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.3% during the second quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 6,477 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 10,428 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,838,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $317.08 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $328.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $279.02 and its 200 day moving average is $226.96.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.58. Alphabet had a return on equity of 35.00% and a net margin of 32.23%.The company had revenue of $102.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.90 billion. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total transaction of $7,910,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,402,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,699,785.79. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,635,348.70. The trade was a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 226,128 shares of company stock valued at $61,326,372 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $224.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $233.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $288.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $306.00 price objective (up previously from $255.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $312.65.

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.