Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Peoples Financial Services CORP.

Key Points

• Peoples Financial Services CORP. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 6.9%, owning a total of 19,560 shares valued at approximately $3.47 million after selling 1,453 shares in the second quarter.
• Insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock for over $4.6 million, representing a significant decrease of 35.65% in his position.
• Alphabet's stock has demonstrated strong performance with a market cap of $2.95 trillion and a recent EPS of $2.31, surpassing analyst expectations.

Peoples Financial Services CORP. lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 6.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,560 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,453 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 1.7% of Peoples Financial Services CORP.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Peoples Financial Services CORP.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.3% during the second quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 264,998 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $47,008,000 after buying an additional 8,346 shares in the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.2% during the second quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 145,153 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $25,749,000 after buying an additional 5,871 shares in the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 7.2% during the second quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,991,000 after buying an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.9% during the second quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,000 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,242,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 9.7% in the second quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 26,162 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total value of $149,664.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. This trade represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 225,469 shares of company stock worth $46,586,752. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $243.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company's 50-day moving average price is $218.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.47. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $256.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.35.

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.

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