Provident Investment Management Inc. Sells 5,062 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Provident Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 401,648 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 5,062 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 7.3% of Provident Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Provident Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $76,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Resolute Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $688,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,787 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,245,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Proem Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $15,235,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 291.4% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 36,282 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,910,000 after purchasing an additional 27,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Climber Capital SA acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $349,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG opened at $152.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.04. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.38. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.20 and a 1 year high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its 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 return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on GOOG. Benchmark restated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. The trade was a 6.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,195.20. This trade represents a 6.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,297 shares of company stock valued at $15,936,270 over the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is 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.