Cumberland Partners Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. by 1.2%, selling 3,342 shares and now holding 271,583 shares, valued at approximately $42.4 million.
• Insider sales include CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares for about $5.99 million, representing a 1.27% decrease in his ownership stake.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 0.4% and a dividend payout ratio of 8.95%.

Cumberland Partners Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 271,583 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,342 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 3.3% of Cumberland Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Alphabet were worth $42,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GOOG. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in Alphabet by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alphabet by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, jvl associates llc raised its holdings in Alphabet by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOG traded down $2.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $189.95. 21,211,425 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,077,368. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $179.37 and a 200-day moving average of $174.53. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $208.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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, sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 2,559,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 249,399 shares of company stock valued at $43,525,794. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Alphabet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

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.