First Western Trust Bank Sells 5,676 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• First Western Trust Bank reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 7.5%, now holding 70,238 shares valued at approximately $10.86 million, making it the bank's 15th largest position.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15th, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.4%.
• Despite a recent drop in insider holdings, Alphabet has consistently received positive analyst ratings, with an average target price of $211.53, indicating a generally favorable outlook.

First Western Trust Bank lessened its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,238 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 5,676 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up approximately 0.5% of First Western Trust Bank's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. First Western Trust Bank's holdings in Alphabet were worth $10,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GOOGL. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Alphabet Price Performance

GOOGL stock traded down $2.8650 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $200.6350. The company had a trading volume of 7,280,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,364,340. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.00.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid 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 payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 15,000 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $2,786,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 240,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,656,704. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 274,819 shares of company stock valued at $49,796,547. 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.