Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 953,604 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 9,243 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.5% of Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $147,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.68, for a total value of $5,742,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,555,196 shares in the company, valued at $451,452,029.28. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total transaction of $104,537.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,377,014.99. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 216,306 shares of company stock valued at $35,782,927. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on GOOGL. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wedbush set a $190.00 price objective on Alphabet and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.17.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.7%

Alphabet stock traded up $2.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $173.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,662,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,836,780. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $165.45 and a 200-day moving average of $174.58. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $140.53 and a one year high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. 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.