Cortland Associates Inc. MO Sells 1,025 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Cortland Associates Inc. MO reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 194,918 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 1,025 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 4.2% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $36,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Brick & Kyle Associates raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brick & Kyle Associates now owns 58,083 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $10,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 117.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 16,201 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 8,750 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 8.5% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 104,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $18,994,000 after purchasing an additional 8,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,555,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.80, for a total value of $284,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,824 shares in the company, valued at $4,142,195.20. This represents a 6.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 1,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.41, for a total transaction of $232,950.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 23,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,007,191.15. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 89,529 shares of company stock worth $16,600,078. 11.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $191.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $190.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.52. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.66 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The information services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.03. Alphabet had a return on equity of 31.66% and a net margin of 27.74%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Alphabet from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $229.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp cut Alphabet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $217.00 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.62.

About Alphabet

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.