Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 0.4% in the second quarter, now holding 502,012 shares valued at approximately $89 million.
• Despite some stakes being reduced, multiple investors, including Independence Bank of Kentucky and GC Wealth Management RIA LLC, increased their positions in Alphabet during the same period.
• Recent research reports show that analysts have mixed ratings for Alphabet, with a consensus target price of $235.33 and a general sentiment of "Moderate Buy."

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 502,012 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,924 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises about 1.2% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $89,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.2% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. RDA Financial Network raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.3% in the second quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 11,094 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,968,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Oldfather Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the second quarter valued at about $213,000. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 115.7% in the second quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 214,392 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $38,031,000 after buying an additional 115,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 3,626,927 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $643,381,000 after buying an additional 15,065 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ GOOG opened at $246.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $256.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

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.

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