Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,199 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,993 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 0.9% of Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $2,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Hutchinson Capital Management CA boosted its stake in Alphabet by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Hutchinson Capital Management CA now owns 3,555 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC increased its stake in Alphabet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 6,445 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 15,977 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,043,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Concentrum Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 17,328 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,300,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Alphabet by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.7%

Alphabet stock traded down $2.99 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $177.56. 20,952,880 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,209,194. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $169.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $1,575,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,695,000. This represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and six have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.38.

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.