Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is LS Investment Advisors LLC’s 4th Largest Position

LS Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 158,176 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,989 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 3.8% of LS Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $24,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $169.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The company has a market cap of $2.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.14.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.88.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 673 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,770 shares of company stock worth $32,036,638 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by 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.