BCS Wealth Management Decreases Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

BCS Wealth Management lowered its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 28.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,147 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,677 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Alphabet news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This trade represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 195,770 shares of company stock worth $32,036,638. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $173.68 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $160.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.75.

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.

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