Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Position Lessened by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,720 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,246 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.3% of Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $53,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 401 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded down $1.63 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $190.41. The company had a trading volume of 11,815,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,570,484. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $182.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.95. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.66 and a 1-year high of $201.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 10.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, China Renaissance upgraded Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.15.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $473,929.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,406,343.27. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.30, for a total transaction of $3,741,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,106,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,361,837.80. This trade represents a 1.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 154,387 shares of company stock worth $27,748,931. Insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

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.