Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 1.6%, selling 23,725 shares during the first quarter, resulting in a valuation of approximately $219.98 million for its remaining shares.
• Alphabet reported quarterly earnings of $2.31 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $96.43 billion compared to expected $93.60 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with the payment scheduled for September 15th, reflecting a 0.4% dividend yield and a low payout ratio of 8.95%.

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,422,531 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 23,725 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.9% of Comerica Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Comerica Bank's holdings in Alphabet were worth $219,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock opened at $207.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $188.07 and a 200-day moving average of $173.51. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $210.52. 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 has a market cap of $2.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of Alphabet 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 $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This trade 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, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value 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. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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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