Cidel Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 203,136 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 24,879 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.1% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Cidel Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $31,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. RoundAngle Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. RoundAngle Advisors LLC now owns 10,505 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 4.1% during the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 219,224 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $33,901,000 after acquiring an additional 8,707 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.9% during the first quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 25,619 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,962,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Alphabet by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,908,021 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $449,696,000 after acquiring an additional 34,481 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $176.79 on Tuesday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

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

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GOOGL shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.95.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,192,275. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 261,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,844,050. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

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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