ProVise Management Group LLC Has $13.73 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

ProVise Management Group LLC trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,553 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 8,516 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.2% of ProVise Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $13,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 3.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 337,031 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 213,673 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $35,438,000 after acquiring an additional 4,522 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 224,437 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,223,000 after purchasing an additional 13,799 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 141,204 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $23,419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on GOOGL shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Alphabet from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.59.

Alphabet Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $154.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $179.66 and its 200-day moving average is $176.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $147.22 and a 12 month high of $207.05.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. The trade was a 19.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,293,285.89. The trade was a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,812 shares of company stock worth $19,336,979 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet 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.