Violich Capital Management Inc. has recently reduced its ownership of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 0.4% during the fourth fiscal quarter, according to the company’s most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). During this period, Violich owned a total of 371,850 shares; a decrease from their previous number of 1,500 shares sold throughout the quarter. Despite the decrease in ownership, Alphabet still makes up for a significant portion of Violich Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio at 5.9%, ranking third on their list of core holdings. The firm’s net worth related to Alphabet is estimated to be around $32,994,000 as per their latest SEC filing.
Alphabet is widely known for its business infrastructure which focuses on online advertising and cloud-based solutions; catering towards enterprise customers by providing features such as platform services and communication tools. Besides these services, Alphabet also offers other products such as hardware and subscription-based products including mobile applications and in-app purchases.
In other news involving Alphabet’s major shareholders, it was reported that 2021 Gp L.L.C-Gv bought about 415,000 shares of Alphabet’s stock during one transaction on March 13th. The total value came in at around $12,155,350 with each share being acquired at an average cost of roughly $29.29 per share. After purchasing these additional shares during the quarter via the above transactional process; insider stakeholders now own a total of 1,709,527 shares which are valued at approximately $50,072,045 as per recent insider filings with SEC.
In contrast to insider buying trends linked with stocks amongst various corporations across the U.S., CAO Amie Thuener O’toole reportedly sold about 855 company shares traded at an average price tag of $91.15 apiece through transaction that occurred on Wednesday January 4th. This action generated a total payout of $77,933.25 with the chief accounting officer now owning 25,122 shares of Alphabet’s stock valued at around $2,289,870.30 following the sale.
In conclusion, as per recent filings with SEC, insiders have sold about 80,668 shares of Alphabet’s stock over the last three months and nearly 13% of Alphabet is owned by corporate insiders.
Alphabet Inc. Sees Increase in Hedge Fund Holdings and Mixed Analyst Ratings Amidst Growing Cloud Computing Potential
Alphabet Inc. has recently seen a series of modifications to its holdings by several hedge funds, including Totem Point Management LLC, which increased its position in the company by 22% during the first quarter. Other firms to have increased their positions in Alphabet include Somerville Kurt F (10.3%), BCK Partners Inc., Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. (53.2%) and Fairfield Bush & CO. (6.8%). In total, institutional investors and hedge funds now own 28.69% of Alphabet’s stock.
A number of research firms have also recently commented on the company, with analysts forecasting an average earnings per share figure of $5.11 for the year. Raymond James upped its target price from $116 to $119 and Oppenheimer raised their target price from $130 to $155, both highlighting that Alphabet remained a ‘Moderate Buy’. Meanwhile, Cowen reduced Alphabet’s price target from $135 to $125 and one analyst issued a hold rating for the stock.
Alphabet operates in delivering online advertising supported by cloud-based solutions that provide enterprise customers with infrastructure services – this includes sales of other hardware products including apps, in-app purchases and subscription-based services.
Trading on Tuesday opened at $104.91 with a market cap of $1.34 trillion and PE ratio of 23:05; Alphabet’s most recent quarterly earnings report showed it had revenue of $76 billion in Q4 2019 that represents growth rate 17% YoY but missed estimates due to rising administrative costs incurred through marketing investments.
It would seem that despite mixed ratings reflecting a lackluster performance for its earnings projections over past quarters; investors continue lending support to Alphabet via their confidence as demonstrated through hedge fund activities indicating a continued trust for sustained growth while sales continue growth trends albeit with increasing marketing investments challenges toward projected earnings calls.
Despite the challenges faced in previous earnings reports, Alphabet’s cloud computing business still shows great potential among its peers. Investors are keeping their fingers crossed that the company will continue to grow and increase dividends over time.
