First City Capital Management Inc. Has $908,000 Holdings in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• First City Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 21.9%, owning 5,150 shares valued at $908,000 after selling 1,443 shares in the second quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have generally positive outlooks for Alphabet, with recent price targets being raised by several firms, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.44.
• Insider transactions included significant sales from key executives, with CEO Sundar Pichai selling 32,500 shares for about $7.47 million, while overall, insiders sold 257,866 shares valued at over $52 million within the last 90 days.

First City Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 21.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,150 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,443 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on GOOGL. Susquehanna increased their price target on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.73, for a total value of $7,466,225.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,429,892 shares in the company, valued at $558,219,089.16. The trade was a 1.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 257,866 shares of company stock valued at $52,363,610 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $246.54 on Monday. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $256.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $215.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.28.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.60 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given 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 (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

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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