Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is Hartford Investment Management Co.'s 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Hartford Investment Management Co. has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 1.2%, making it the firm's 7th largest position with 355,920 shares valued at approximately $55 million.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a positive outlook on Alphabet, with a consensus average price target of $211.53 and a majority rating of "Moderate Buy."

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 355,920 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,497 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.9% of Hartford Investment Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $55,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perritt Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Alphabet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,553 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Enzi Wealth lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 2,561 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 5,438 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $201.42 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $180.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.15. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 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.

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 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 business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Roth Capital upped their price objective on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273 over the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by 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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