Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,986 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,729 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,986 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.7% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 11,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 16,690 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,331,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RAM Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Alphabet from $155.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $173.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $2,985,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at $309,548,095.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.73, for a total value of $119,784.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,072,665.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 252,629 shares of company stock valued at $37,091,240. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $171.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $151.40 and its 200-day moving average is $142.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $105.16 and a 12 month high of $174.71.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.57 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%.

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.