Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Vega Investment Solutions

Vega Investment Solutions cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,452 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,617 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 1.6% of Vega Investment Solutions’ holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Vega Investment Solutions’ holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its position in Alphabet by 4.0% in the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 25,146 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,929,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 233,535 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $36,485,000 after purchasing an additional 8,280 shares during the last quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. White Lighthouse Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,666 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, MSA Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. MSA Advisors LLC now owns 87,865 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,727,000 after purchasing an additional 5,750 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Frances Arnold sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.66, for a total value of $32,401.32. Following the sale, the director owned 18,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,750,916.64. This trade represents a 0.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.06, for a total value of $168,036.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,264,750.96. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 228,906 shares of company stock worth $62,127,158 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $322.09 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $328.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The information services provider reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $102.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.90 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 32.23% and a return on equity of 35.00%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is presently 8.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GOOG. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, November 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho set a $325.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Alphabet from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $310.54.

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.