Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Position Trimmed by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,421 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,746 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $3,119,000. Optivise Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 46,173 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $8,741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 15.7% during the first quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning now owns 9,898 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its position in Alphabet by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 61,792 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $11,816,000 after buying an additional 14,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 261,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,844,050. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 183,143 shares of company stock valued at $30,529,028. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $178.64 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.95.

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.

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