Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Avalon Trust Co

Key Points

• Avalon Trust Co reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 0.9%, owning $67.82 million worth of shares, making it the company's 6th largest position.
• Alphabet's recent quarterly earnings reported a net revenue of $96.43 billion, exceeding analyst projections and showing a year-over-year growth of 13.8%.
• Institutional investors collectively own 27.26% of Alphabet's stock, with several firms increasing their positions in recent quarters, indicating strong confidence in the company.

Avalon Trust Co lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 434,113 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,954 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 5.4% of Avalon Trust Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Avalon Trust Co's holdings in Alphabet were worth $67,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% during the first quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $26,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total transaction of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total value of $5,992,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $5.80 on Monday, reaching $195.75. The company had a trading volume of 23,350,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,139,204. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $179.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.39. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.66 and a 1 year high of $208.70.

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

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on GOOG. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Alphabet Company 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.