Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Sells 1,896 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 2.3%, now owning 82,336 shares worth approximately $12.58 million after selling 1,896 shares.
• Alphabet reported better-than-expected financial results with $2.31 EPS and revenue of $96.43 billion, surpassing analysts' estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, reflecting a 0.4% dividend yield.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,336 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,896 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at $32,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 273,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,474,273. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $197.28. The company had a trading volume of 14,292,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,208,792. 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 twelve month low of $142.66 and a twelve month high of $208.70. The stock's 50 day moving average is $181.28 and its 200-day moving average is $174.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.02.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GOOG. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

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.