Weitz Investment Management Inc. Sells 73,100 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Weitz Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 14.1% in Q1, now holding 445,600 shares valued at approximately $69.6 million.
• Alphabet reported earnings of $2.31 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with revenue increasing 13.8% year-over-year to $96.43 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21, representing an annual yield of 0.4%, with a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Weitz Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 445,600 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 73,100 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 3.7% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Weitz Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $69,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $2.25 on Tuesday, hitting $198.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,977,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,188,002. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.38. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

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.