Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 8.9%, now holding approximately 93,046 shares, which represents 6.5% of its investment portfolio.
• Alphabet's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.31, surpassing estimates, with revenue reaching $96.43 billion, a 13.8% increase year-over-year.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Alphabet, with Raymond James and Westpark Capital both setting targets at $210.00, indicating positive sentiment towards the stock's future performance.

Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,046 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,130 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 6.5% of Wittenberg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 18,562.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,237,733,000 after buying an additional 14,246,573 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $64,299,725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,687,855 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $10,873,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after buying an additional 5,758,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 33,504,543 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,380,605,000 after buying an additional 4,247,379 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,656,704. This represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total value of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $4.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $202.17. The stock had a trading volume of 5,389,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,026,020. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.68.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

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.