Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 5.3%, now owning 167,493 shares worth approximately $25.9 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic, with target prices raised by firms like UBS and Morgan Stanley, reflecting a general consensus of a Moderate Buy rating and an average target price of $211.53.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Howard Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,493 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,449 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.5% of Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Citizens Jmp upgraded Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Westpark Capital increased their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.7%

Alphabet stock opened at $196.09 on Thursday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $179.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. Corporate insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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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