Westwood Management Corp IL Cuts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Westwood Management Corp IL lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 67.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,356 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 177,900 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 4.6% of Westwood Management Corp IL’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Westwood Management Corp IL’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 28,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,024,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 403,629 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $56,916,000 after purchasing an additional 15,694 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,955 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,032 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.0 %

Alphabet stock opened at $159.19 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.27 and a 52-week high of $161.70. The company has a market cap of $1.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.17.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.28 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.14, for a total value of $3,198,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,400,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $341,163,148.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.14, for a total value of $3,198,150.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,400,191 shares in the company, valued at $341,163,148.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 250,539 shares of company stock valued at $35,906,259. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.50.

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.