Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,575 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC sold 1,575 shares of Alphabet Inc., decreasing its holdings by 11.7%, leaving them with 11,919 shares worth approximately $2.26 million.
• Analysts show optimism for Alphabet's stock, with Guggenheim raising its target price from $210 to $280, and several firms maintaining "buy" ratings amidst varying target price adjustments.
• Insider selling was reported, with CEO Sundar Pichai and insider John Kent Walker selling significant shares, indicating a decrease in their positions in the company.

Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,919 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,575 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 242.9% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 85.7% during the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GOOGL shares. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Alphabet from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Roth Capital raised their price target on Alphabet from $210.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $252.24.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Alphabet stock opened at $253.30 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $231.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.61. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $256.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. On average, analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued 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 was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total value of $4,408,034.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,635,348.70. This represents a 29.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.15, for a total value of $8,129,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,369,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $592,760,192.85. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 246,150 shares of company stock worth $55,805,379 in the last quarter. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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