Johnson Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,627 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,178 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.6% of Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 570 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Manchester Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 2,124 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,262 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 22,542 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,177,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 13,565 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7 %

GOOG stock traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $176.33. The company had a trading volume of 11,400,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,919,467. The company has a market capitalization of $2.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.27 and a 200 day moving average of $148.10. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.83 and a 12 month high of $179.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Alphabet’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $165.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,903,886.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,903,886.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 2,100 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.76, for a total transaction of $369,096.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,891 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,402.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 205,935 shares of company stock valued at $31,178,987 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

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.