Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is Carret Asset Management LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Carret Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 112,119 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,862 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 2.3% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $21,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in Alphabet by 6.8% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 728,575 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $120,834,000 after purchasing an additional 46,677 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,283,594 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,871,384,000 after buying an additional 337,031 shares in the last quarter. TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the third quarter worth about $820,000. Finally, GDS Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 114,056 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $18,916,000 after buying an additional 3,354 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $170.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $147.22 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.72 and its 200 day moving average is $176.86.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Ten equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total transaction of $3,245,761.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. The trade was a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.