Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stock Position Reduced by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 327,401 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 44,377 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 1.7% of Avanza Fonder AB's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Alphabet were worth $51,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. PayPay Securities Corp increased its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $1.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $175.70. 20,879,613 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,364,109. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $2.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $162.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.57. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.71, for a total transaction of $5,483,075.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,587,696 shares in the company, valued at $436,570,192.16. This trade represents a 1.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,570 shares of company stock worth $32,003,532. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.