Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Lowers Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 63.0% in Q1, selling 23,556 shares and now owning 13,855 shares worth approximately $2.14 million.
• CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares at an average price of $199.92, representing a 1.3% decrease in ownership, while insiders collectively sold 254,719 shares valued at about $47 million over the past three months.
• Alphabet has seen a range of price target increases from various analysts, with the average target now at $211.53, indicating strong confidence in the company's growth potential.

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 63.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,855 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 23,556 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up 1.8% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GOOGL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Roth Capital increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.2%

GOOGL stock traded up $2.40 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $208.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,895,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,370,868. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company's fifty day moving average price is $187.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.28. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $210.52. 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 (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 8.95%.

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.