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

Key Points

• Towercrest Capital Management reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 46.7% during the last quarter, now owning 1,894 shares valued at $293,000.
• Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock for over $3.4 million, while insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares for approximately $4.6 million.
• Several research firms have raised their price targets for Alphabet, with JPMorgan Chase increasing theirs from $200 to $232 and Barclays from $220 to $235, indicating strong market confidence.

Towercrest Capital Management lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 46.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,894 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,660 shares during the quarter. Towercrest Capital Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first 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. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273 in the last three months. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Alphabet stock opened at $196.52 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $180.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GOOGL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Westpark Capital increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.53.

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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