Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Stake Lowered by Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.

Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,415 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,062 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 7.6% of Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Bourne Lent Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $17,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in Alphabet by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. North Forty Two & Co. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Finally, Fermata Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.7% during the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,527,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.88.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.53, for a total transaction of $33,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,293,285.89. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 195,770 shares of company stock worth $32,036,638. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ GOOG traded up $2.71 on Monday, hitting $177.63. 18,798,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,382,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.09.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

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.