Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Has $16.76 Million Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,915 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 720 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 5.2% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $16,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the third quarter worth $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $2,985,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,332,691 shares in the company, valued at $309,548,095.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.56, for a total value of $127,648.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,275,043.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 251,339 shares of company stock worth $36,377,482. Insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOOG. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $159.86.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $157.95 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.27 and a 1 year high of $161.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $147.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.12.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $85.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

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.