WealthShield Partners LLC Has $7.85 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

WealthShield Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,457 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 401 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.1% of WealthShield Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at $32,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 518.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.62.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $173.86 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.00 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $188.21 and a 200 day moving average of $176.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. The trade was a 8.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.22, for a total transaction of $291,330.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,529,987.28. The trade was a 6.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,316 shares of company stock valued at $25,062,887. Company insiders own 11.55% 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.