Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Holdings Lessened by Financial Partners Group LLC

Financial Partners Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,901 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,858 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for 5.1% of Financial Partners Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Financial Partners Group LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $11,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,381 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 7,527 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Burt Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Burt Wealth Advisors now owns 5,307 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Alphabet by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 618 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Down 3.9%

NASDAQ GOOGL traded down $6.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $166.64. 75,073,701 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 30,587,197. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $195.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $200.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Westpark Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.68, for a total value of $5,742,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,555,196 shares in the company, valued at $451,452,029.28. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total transaction of $32,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,613 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,544.70. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 228,070 shares of company stock valued at $37,745,632. Insiders own 11.64% 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.