Brookstone Capital Management Sells 15,697 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Brookstone Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 317,991 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 15,697 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up 0.7% of Brookstone Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Alphabet were worth $49,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,575,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,695,000. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 215,443 shares of company stock valued at $36,298,548. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.8%

GOOGL stock traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $181.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 32,308,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,916,648. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.53 and a 12 month high of $207.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $170.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.15.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. The company had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JMP Securities upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.61.

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.