North Star Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

North Star Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 238,400 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 2,392 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.7% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $33,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in Alphabet by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 35,667 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $5,027,000 after acquiring an additional 10,384 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $1,453,000. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. increased its stake in Alphabet by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 116,905 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $16,475,000 after purchasing an additional 10,359 shares during the period. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 77,700 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $10,950,000 after purchasing an additional 14,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $159.92 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $147.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $103.27 and a fifty-two week high of $161.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The information services provider reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $86.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.28 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 24.01%. Alphabet’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total transaction of $3,291,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,832,416.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total value of $93,086.18. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 28,602 shares in the company, valued at $3,903,886.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total transaction of $3,291,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,832,416.39. 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. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.