Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 1,561 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Heartland Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,274 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,561 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Wade G W & Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Wade G W & Inc. now owns 110,260 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,402,000 after buying an additional 19,880 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 13,125 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Capital Management LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 113,266 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $15,989,000 after purchasing an additional 39,728 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of GOOGL opened at $177.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $158.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.35 and a 12-month high of $178.77.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 28,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,903,886.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.51, for a total value of $41,853.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,187.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 205,935 shares of company stock worth $31,178,987. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Alphabet from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alphabet from $165.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Alphabet from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.60.

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.