Perpetual Ltd Sells 14,842 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Perpetual Ltd decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 546,427 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 14,842 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.0% of Perpetual Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $84,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $0.18 on Thursday, reaching $178.82. 11,467,379 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,427,105. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $167.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.20. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business 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 earned $1.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $189.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,555,196 shares in the company, valued at $451,452,029.28. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 183,143 shares of company stock worth $30,529,028. Company 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.