GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Sells 2,664 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• GLOBALT Investments LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 3.2%, owning 81,063 shares valued at approximately $12.54 million by the end of the first quarter.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, to be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%.
• Wall Street analysts have generally bullish views on Alphabet, with multiple firms raising target prices, the average consensus reaching $211.39.

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA reduced its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,063 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,664 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.5% of GLOBALT Investments LLC GA's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA's holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $5.91 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $195.04. 31,493,654 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,132,445. 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 $178.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.82. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $2.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. 11.55% of the stock is 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.