Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 3.7% during the first quarter, owning 565,076 shares valued at approximately $87.47 million.
• CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock for about $5.99 million, decreasing his ownership by 1.27%.
• Brokerages have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with Needham & Company increasing it from $210 to $220 and assigning a "buy" rating.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 565,076 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 21,427 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.3% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $87,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Stevens Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 44,044 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,811,000 after acquiring an additional 15,956 shares during the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth $264,000. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 267,945 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $41,435,000 after acquiring an additional 11,436 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,803 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $3,990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 13,788 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total value of $5,992,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GOOGL. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Roth Capital lifted 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.39.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4%

GOOGL stock opened at $189.13 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.53 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.01. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $178.32 and a 200-day moving average of $173.12.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Alphabet 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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