Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,952,116 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 108,826 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.8% of Korea Investment CORP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $752,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 14.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 116,776 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $19,642,000 after purchasing an additional 14,738 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $927,000. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 172.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 91,237 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,254,000 after buying an additional 57,810 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut shares of Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.13.

Alphabet Stock Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $167.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.20 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $182.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.36.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 9.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ruth Porat sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.48, for a total value of $3,245,761.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,449,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,914,995.28. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,048 shares of company stock valued at $17,374,274 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.