Kennon Green & Company LLC Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Kennon Green & Company LLC lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,065 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 2.6% of Kennon Green & Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Kennon Green & Company LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. Veracity Capital LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 10,597 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in Alphabet by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 6,093 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 33.0% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 7,359 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares during the period. CNB Bank lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 27,723 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $3,655,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 8,238 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company’s stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $164.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.50 and a 52 week high of $176.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $150.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $80.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 29.52% and a net margin of 25.90%. Alphabet’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 7.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total value of $508,150.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at $22,566,519.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Prabhakar Raghavan sold 3,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.97, for a total transaction of $508,150.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 144,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,566,519.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.29, for a total transaction of $3,291,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,377,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $347,832,416.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 253,289 shares of company stock worth $36,724,534. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GOOG. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $165.67.

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.