Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Position Cut by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 374,806 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 50,957 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.5% of Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $52,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 227,317,469 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,746,764,000 after purchasing an additional 12,070,681 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Alphabet by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,684,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $8,857,154,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416,328 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Alphabet by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 45,220,857 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $6,316,902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,043 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,910,194 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,876,605,000 after acquiring an additional 874,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,064,614 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,279,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,809,910 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $173.55 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $160.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.39. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.35 and a 12 month high of $178.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.40. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The firm had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (up previously from $160.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,903,886.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $309,548,095.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $93,086.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,903,886.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 205,935 shares of company stock valued at $31,178,987. Insiders own 11.55% 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.