Alphabet Inc. $GOOG Shares Sold by Fermata Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Fermata Advisors LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 61.5% during the second quarter, owning 3,763 shares worth $668,000 after selling 6,008 shares.
• Several other hedge funds have increased their stakes in Alphabet, with notable investments from Aaron Wealth Advisors and Thrive Wealth Management, reflecting continued institutional interest in the stock.
• Alphabet has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which translates to a 0.3% annualized yield, as part of its ongoing commitment to return value to shareholders.

Fermata Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 61.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,763 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,008 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $668,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 85 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,088 shares of company stock valued at $52,405,304. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Trading Up 1.2%

GOOG traded up $2.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $255.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 41,503,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,489,492. Alphabet Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.66 and a fifty-two week high of $256.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50-day moving average is $210.08 and its 200-day moving average is $181.61. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on GOOG. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.56.

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.