Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,437 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 766 shares during the quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $9,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in Alphabet by 518.8% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 36.1% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Denver PWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 281 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.51, for a total value of $3,281,671.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,997,521.61. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.08, for a total value of $270,787.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,606,723.84. This trade represents a 6.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 115,663 shares of company stock valued at $20,286,447. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $153.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.98.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp lowered Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Alphabet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $198.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.46.

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.