Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Purchases 2,778 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 2.2% in Q1, now owning 126,912 shares valued at approximately $19.6 million.
• Insider selling activity includes Director Kavitark Ram Shriram and CEO Sundar Pichai, who sold 18,566 and 32,500 shares, respectively, indicating a decrease in their ownership.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid to shareholders on September 15th, with a yield of 0.43%.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,912 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,778 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.2% of Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp's holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. WNY Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,632 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Capital Management LLC now owns 78,260 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $12,102,000 after acquiring an additional 5,019 shares during the period. Aspen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth about $440,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 21,752 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680 shares during the period. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,170 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $196.53. The stock had a trading volume of 32,265,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,021,776. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $177.49 and its 200 day moving average is $173.11. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Citizens Jmp raised Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, June 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 249,298 shares of company stock valued at $43,505,967. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

About Alphabet

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.