Avity Investment Management Inc. Decreases Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Avity Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 18.1%, owning 197,749 shares valued at approximately $35 million after selling over 43,000 shares in the second quarter.
• Alphabet's stock has seen a 4.3% increase recently, with current trading prices around $251.76 and a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, yielding 0.3%, and has a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Avity Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,749 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 43,731 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 2.6% of Avity Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $35,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 11,094 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, jvl associates llc lifted its position in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $1.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $254.07. 10,470,146 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,862,352. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $254.43.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during 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 prior year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total transaction of $680,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 17,293 shares in the company, valued at $4,236,785. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. BNP Paribas cut Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.56.

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.