Northstar Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,554 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Northstar Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 93,383 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 4,554 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 3.8% of Northstar Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Northstar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 75.0% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 140 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Alphabet during the second quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.6 %

GOOGL stock opened at $175.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03. 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 twelve month low of $127.90 and a twelve month high of $191.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.28.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on GOOGL shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.36, for a total value of $3,990,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total value of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 319,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,765,168.06. This represents a 3.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,471,141 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.