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. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,493 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,449 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.5% of Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 13.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 18,019 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,786,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 444,490 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $68,736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 31,123 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,813,000 after acquiring an additional 2,830 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Capital Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,327,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Alphabet by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 135,123 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,895,000 after acquiring an additional 8,059 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $4.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $201.42. 39,112,061 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,618,092. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $180.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.98. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Roth Capital boosted their price target on Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Alphabet from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $2,786,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 240,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.23, for a total transaction of $6,377,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,494,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $489,572,657.16. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock worth $49,474,273 over the last ninety days. 11.64% 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.