Sterneck Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Sterneck Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,183 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.8% of Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Sterneck Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter worth $41,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Alphabet during the second quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Alphabet during the third quarter worth about $66,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total transaction of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,471,620.22. This trade represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $473,929.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,406,343.27. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 155,887 shares of company stock worth $27,996,356. 11.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. China Renaissance raised shares of Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.82.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $195.49 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $181.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.72. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $201.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. Alphabet had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.61%.

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.