Commerce Bank Trims Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 0.3%, owning 621,268 shares valued at $97.06 million after selling 1,654 shares in the first quarter.
• CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares for approximately $5.8 million, representing a 1.25% decrease in his total holdings.
• Alphabet reported a quarterly revenue of $96.43 billion and an EPS of $2.31, exceeding analysts' forecasts and reflecting a 13.8% year-over-year growth.

Commerce Bank trimmed its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 621,268 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,654 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Alphabet were worth $97,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Concentrum Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 17,328 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,300,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Kidder Stephen W raised its position in Alphabet by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Kidder Stephen W now owns 3,608 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Objectivity Squared LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 16,342 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,605,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Tranquility Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 14,488 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,263,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's 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 $3,448,820.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,399 shares of company stock valued at $43,525,794. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Westpark Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG traded down $2.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $189.95. 21,211,425 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,077,368. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $179.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.69. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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.