Northcape Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,746 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.1% of Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in Alphabet by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 87,716,562 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $13,355,724,000 after purchasing an additional 7,470,042 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 45,731,826 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $6,963,128,000 after buying an additional 979,083 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,558,778 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $5,414,179,000 after buying an additional 684,968 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Alphabet by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,657,421 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,688,743,000 after acquiring an additional 636,008 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,327,458 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,261,103,000 after acquiring an additional 282,121 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GOOG. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Alphabet in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Alphabet to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares in the company, valued at $5,136,807.48. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total transaction of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 319,966 shares in the company, valued at $56,765,168.06. The trade was a 3.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,471,141. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $173.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $167.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.40 and a 12-month high of $193.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

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.