Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 23.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,939 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 8,486 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 0.8% of Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $5,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $1,261,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $545,000. Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $428,000. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $1,233,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $6,578,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $4.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $172.90. 37,917,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,780,742. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,374 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total transaction of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,024 shares in the company, valued at $2,606,213.28. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total value of $5,153,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,917,877.76. This represents a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 164,654 shares of company stock worth $26,793,380 in the last 90 days. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on GOOGL. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.75.

About Alphabet

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.