Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Position Lessened by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275,125 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,794 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.4% of Independent Advisor Alliance's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Alphabet were worth $42,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cove Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 40.3% in the first quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,859 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,772,000 after purchasing an additional 8,868 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB increased its stake in Alphabet by 3.1% in the first quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 125,305 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $19,377,000 after purchasing an additional 3,816 shares during the period. SouthState Corp increased its stake in Alphabet by 14.6% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 75,755 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,715,000 after purchasing an additional 9,646 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its stake in Alphabet by 1.8% in the first quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 74,020 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Alphabet by 21.8% in the first quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 231,680 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $35,827,000 after purchasing an additional 41,510 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,462,392 shares in the company, valued at $492,281,408.64. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172 over the last ninety days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $199.75. 19,647,085 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,974,156. The company has a market cap of $2.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $186.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.37. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. As a group, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

Alphabet 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.