Chicago Wealth Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Chicago Wealth Management Inc. has decreased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 38.5%, selling 3,599 shares, leaving it with 5,750 shares valued at $898,000.
• Several institutional investors, including JDM Financial Group LLC and True Wealth Design LLC, have increased their holdings in Alphabet, reflecting shifting investment strategies among firms.
• Alphabet will pay a dividend of $0.21 per share on September 15th, with a modest yield of 0.4%, highlighting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Chicago Wealth Management Inc. reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 38.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,750 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,599 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 0.5% of Chicago Wealth Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Chicago Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. JDM Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Objectivity Squared LLC boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the first quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 16,342 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,605,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 14,488 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,263,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 10,648 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,664,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 293 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GOOG shares. BNP Paribas lowered Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total value of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the sale, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172. Corporate insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOG opened at $200.62 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.87. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Alphabet's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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