Argent Trust Co Sells 4,924 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co has reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 2.9%, selling 4,924 shares and bringing its total ownership to 164,998 shares worth approximately $25.78 million.
• In recent transactions, insider selling has been significant, with CEO Sundar Pichai and Director Kavitark Ram Shriram selling a combined total of over 51,000 shares.
• Alphabet reported strong quarterly earnings, with a net revenue of $96.43 billion and EPS of $2.31, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 13.8% increase compared to the previous year.

Argent Trust Co lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,998 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,924 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 1.1% of Argent Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Argent Trust Co's holdings in Alphabet were worth $25,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $22,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Alphabet by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $96,465,000 after acquiring an additional 20,855 shares in the last quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 92,174 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604 shares in the last quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $293,454,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of GOOG stock opened at $189.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $179.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

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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