Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Catalina Capital Group LLC

Catalina Capital Group LLC decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 62.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,433 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 14,044 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for 0.9% of Catalina Capital Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Catalina Capital Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $1,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 245 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 673 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.33, for a total value of $104,537.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,377,014.99. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total value of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 228,070 shares of company stock worth $37,745,632 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of Alphabet stock traded down $6.68 on Friday, hitting $166.64. The stock had a trading volume of 75,073,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,587,197. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The company's 50 day moving average price is $164.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Alphabet from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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, Citigroup lifted their target price on Alphabet from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.75.

About Alphabet

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.