Violich Capital Management Inc. Has $44.08 Million Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Violich Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 315,545 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,325 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 7.2% of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Violich Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $44,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 487,435,495 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $63,785,809,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302,104 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 227,317,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,746,764,000 after acquiring an additional 12,070,681 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1,900.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 217,154,306 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,770,809,000 after acquiring an additional 206,300,042 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 111,197.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170,420,243 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,036,178,000 after purchasing an additional 170,267,122 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 118,576,618 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $12,271,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499,107 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $154.40 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.63 and a 52-week high of $160.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. The business had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 228,839 shares of company stock worth $32,835,757 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

About Alphabet

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.