Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 37.2%, selling 15,150 shares, and ending up with holdings valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• Insiders sold a total of 276,738 shares of Alphabet stock worth around $59.1 million in the last 90 days, indicating significant insider activity.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 0.3%, with a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,623 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 15,150 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. ACT Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the second quarter. ACT Advisors LLC. now owns 1,625 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. LongView Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.1% during the second quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 5,126 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Kooman & Associates raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 1.4% during the second quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 4,127 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.4% during the second quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brueske Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the second quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,194 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 953 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total value of $229,863.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 17,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,171,312.80. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.44, for a total transaction of $149,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,799.04. The trade was a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock valued at $59,135,475 in the last 90 days. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG opened at $246.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $256.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $221.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.31.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Mizuho raised shares of Alphabet to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.33.

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.

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