Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 112,995 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,230 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 4.2% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $15,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,919.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 477,035,902 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,628,484,000 after purchasing an additional 453,413,389 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,900.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 217,154,306 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $20,770,809,000 after purchasing an additional 206,300,042 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 111,197.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 1,759.2% in the third quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 116,116,066 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $11,106,502,000 after purchasing an additional 109,870,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,335,063,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Alphabet from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $166.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Alphabet from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Alphabet from $150.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.41.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $154.09 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $146.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.54. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.63 and a 12 month high of $160.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Frances Arnold sold 230 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $35,433.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,326,922.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.