Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Position Reduced by Crystal Rock Capital Management

Crystal Rock Capital Management lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,385 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,675 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 4.9% of Crystal Rock Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Crystal Rock Capital Management’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Alphabet by 360.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,249 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,083,000 after acquiring an additional 15,848 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 32,706 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $4,980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,040 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $13,100,000 after purchasing an additional 13,756 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.2% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 485,420 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $73,910,000 after buying an additional 23,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.0% in the first quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 205,197 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $31,243,000 after buying an additional 3,964 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOG. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alphabet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $183.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.04. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.40 and a 1-year high of $193.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.25 and a 200-day moving average of $171.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is currently 10.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.41, for a total value of $1,862,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 319,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,765,168.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,136,807.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 241,752 shares of company stock valued at $40,156,829 in the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% 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.