Capital Market Strategies LLC Decreases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Capital Market Strategies LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 29% in Q2, now owning 5,995 shares valued at approximately $1,063,000.
• Multiple analysts have recently adjusted their price targets on Alphabet, with Pivotal Research increasing their target from $245 to $300, maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Insiders have sold a total of 254,710 shares worth around $49 million over the past 90 days, contributing to a decrease in their overall ownership in the company.

Capital Market Strategies LLC lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 29.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,995 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,454 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 0.7% of Capital Market Strategies LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Capital Market Strategies LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $64,299,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,687,855 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Alphabet by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $15,971,861,000 after purchasing an additional 9,243,959 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 34,103,417 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,494,655,000 after purchasing an additional 769,335 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,345,784 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,334,852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,380,073 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,183,979,000 after purchasing an additional 440,526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total transaction of $7,466,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,219,089.16. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock worth $49,208,380 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Pivotal Research boosted their price target on Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.56.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of GOOG stock traded up $0.60 on Friday, reaching $241.38. 14,519,054 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,296,040. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $202.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.92. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $242.57.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

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.