Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Synovus Financial Corp

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 0.9%, now holding 357,919 shares valued at approximately $55.35 million.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, payable on September 15th, with a yield of 0.4%.
• Research analysts have increased their price targets for Alphabet, with Wedbush setting a new target at $225.00, highlighting strong potential for the company's stock performance.

Synovus Financial Corp cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 357,919 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,325 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.7% of Synovus Financial Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Alphabet were worth $55,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 509,826,331 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $78,839,544,000 after acquiring an additional 14,307,345 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,050,135 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $12,503,291,000 after acquiring an additional 9,042,271 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,648,514 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,749,806,000 after acquiring an additional 593,345 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.9% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 39,792,300 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,153,481,000 after acquiring an additional 727,335 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 38,556,577 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,962,389,000 after acquiring an additional 104,859 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $207.14 on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $210.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm's 50-day moving average is $188.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.51.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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. 11.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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