Torray Investment Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Torray Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,772 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 617 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Alphabet in the third quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 251 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 16,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.62, for a total value of $3,239,868.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,471,620.22. This represents a 27.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,374 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 134,316 shares of company stock worth $25,062,887. 12.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $174.21 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $190.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.89. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Alphabet’s payout ratio is 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GOOG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.