Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Aviso Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Aviso Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 9.8%, now holding approximately 93,494 shares worth $14.46 million, making it the firm's 29th largest holding.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Northern Trust Corp, have increased their positions in Alphabet, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company's stock.
• Alphabet's recent earnings report exceeded analysts' expectations, with a reported earnings per share of $2.31 and revenue of $96.43 billion, indicating strong financial performance.

Aviso Financial Inc. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,494 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 10,133 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 0.7% of Aviso Financial Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Aviso Financial Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $78,839,544,000 after acquiring an additional 14,307,345 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 69,616,854 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,178,470,000 after acquiring an additional 10,135,430 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,503,291,000 after purchasing an additional 9,042,271 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,648,514 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,749,806,000 after purchasing an additional 593,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.9% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,792,300 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,153,481,000 after purchasing an additional 727,335 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $206.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $208.54. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $186.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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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