Financial Connections Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Financial Connections Group Inc. lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,574 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Meritage Group LP boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1,061.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 302 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 165.8% in the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $154.40 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.63 and a 1-year high of $160.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a PE 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 current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Alphabet had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 27.22%. The company had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $153.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $166.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.64.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’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 approximately $309,548,095.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,326,922.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,839 shares of company stock valued at $32,835,757. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.