Nicholas Company Inc. Has $213.42 Million Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Nicholas Company Inc. lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,120,685 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 3.5% of Nicholas Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $213,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First National Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 96,328 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $18,345,000 after buying an additional 5,218 shares in the last quarter. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,127,000. Altus Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,897 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Collaborative Wealth Managment Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Collaborative Wealth Managment Inc. now owns 1,494 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,355,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $167.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 32.49% and a net margin of 28.60%. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 29,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.89, for a total value of $5,374,012.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 272,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,376,238.74. The trade was a 9.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 2,834 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.55, for a total value of $559,856.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 20,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,531.55. This represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,882 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,130. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp downgraded Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.13.

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.