Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 75.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,588 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,785 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $177.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,191,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,845,344. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $169.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $203.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.87, for a total value of $5,553,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,620,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $447,712,890.52. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928 over the last quarter. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.