Access Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Access Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,693 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Denver PWM LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 25.4% in the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $550,702.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,468,029.04. This represents a 13.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total value of $3,990,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,084,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,672,512.16. This trade represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,387 shares of company stock worth $24,368,654 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $197.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $202.29. The company has a market cap of $2.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.55.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Phillip Securities raised Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.67.

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.