Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,224 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 9.1% in the second quarter, selling 3,224 shares and now holding 32,244 shares total, valued at approximately $6.15 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Alphabet, with 27.26% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors, highlighting shifting investment patterns.
• Alphabet's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $241.00, with recent analyst upgrades suggesting increased confidence in the company's future performance.

Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,244 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,224 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.4% of Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $6,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 400.0% in the second quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Robbins Farley boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 60.0% in the second quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 160 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. WestEnd Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 58.7% in the second quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Pivotal Research boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $241.00.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $237.49 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $226.97 and a 200-day moving average of $189.81. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $256.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.