Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Stake Lessened by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,232,498 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,387 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.8% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $190,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GOOGL. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 3.9%

GOOGL opened at $166.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $164.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.72.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.68, for a total transaction of $5,742,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,555,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,452,029.28. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,070 shares of company stock worth $37,745,632. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.75.

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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