Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

Key Points

• BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp sold 10,027 shares of Alphabet Inc., reducing its holdings by 1.0% to 952,509 shares, which are valued at approximately $148.8 million.
• Alphabet reported a 13.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $96.43 billion and exceeded earnings per share estimates with $2.31 for the last quarter.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 952,509 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 10,027 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 0.9% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Alphabet were worth $148,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 254,719 shares of company stock worth $47,223,172. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG traded up $6.10 on Friday, hitting $206.72. The company had a trading volume of 25,689,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,873,476. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $209.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $187.71 and a 200 day moving average of $174.60. The company has a market cap of $2.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.02.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Alphabet 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.