Financial Counselors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 410,932 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.0% of Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $68,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 33,334,082 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,573,125,000 after purchasing an additional 3,113,395 shares during the period. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.1% in the third quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 176,782 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $29,556,000 after purchasing an additional 16,283 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 60.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 256,121 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,821,000 after purchasing an additional 96,800 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.0% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 364,554 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $60,950,000 after purchasing an additional 17,463 shares during the period. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 19.5% in the third quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC now owns 262,256 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $43,847,000 after purchasing an additional 42,817 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total value of $109,420.08. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 32,017 shares in the company, valued at $5,136,807.48. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 21,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total value of $3,442,233.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,334 shares in the company, valued at $6,307,206.90. This trade represents a 35.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 206,795 shares of company stock worth $34,673,866 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alphabet from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.56.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.1 %

GOOG opened at $170.82 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $129.40 and a one year high of $193.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.04.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

Alphabet Company 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.