Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,820 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Meritage Group LP increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% during the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 343 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $169.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $115.35 and a one year high of $174.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $153.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.04 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total transaction of $3,219,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,355,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $336,980,728.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Alphabet news, CFO Ruth Porat sold 48,077 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.22, for a total transaction of $6,597,125.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,777,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,854,485.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.08, for a total value of $3,219,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,355,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $336,980,728.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 253,329 shares of company stock valued at $37,223,576. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $164.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.60.

Alphabet Company 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.