Empower Advisory Group LLC Sells 3,285 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC has decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 3.5%, now owning 91,710 shares worth approximately $14.18 million.
• Alphabet's recent earnings report showed an **earnings per share (EPS)** of $2.31, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.15, with revenue reaching $96.43 billion.
• Insider sales included notable transactions by CEO **Sundar Pichai** and insider John Kent Walker, with both reducing their stock ownership by 1.29% and 35.65%, respectively.

Empower Advisory Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,710 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,285 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $14,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 50,132 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $9,490,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 110,330 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $20,886,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,930 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,826,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 29,100 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,509,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 73,282 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $13,873,000 after purchasing an additional 13,564 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Alphabet stock traded up $1.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $203.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,473,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,646,953. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96,428,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.60 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 274,219 shares of company stock valued at $49,674,273. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

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.