SignalPoint Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

SignalPoint Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,164 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.0% of SignalPoint Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Denver PWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 401 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $195.55 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $183.45 and a 200 day moving average of $173.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.98. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.66 and a 12 month high of $201.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The information services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $88.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.85 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frances Arnold sold 441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.06, for a total transaction of $75,437.46. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,820,779.40. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.42, for a total value of $234,331.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $4,516,745.58. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 133,387 shares of company stock worth $24,368,654. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, January 10th. China Renaissance raised Alphabet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Alphabet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alphabet from $212.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.15.

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.