Grange Capital LLC Sells 1,840 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Grange Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 49.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,898 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,840 shares during the period. Grange Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. boosted its position in Alphabet by 0.4% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management lifted its holdings 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 worth $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 593 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Kidder Stephen W grew its position in Alphabet by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Kidder Stephen W now owns 3,608 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hill Island Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC now owns 7,776 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,481,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Alphabet from $202.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and six have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $207.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 9,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,695,000. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. 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 the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,192,275. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 215,443 shares of company stock worth $36,298,548 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOG opened at $182.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $171.84 and its 200-day moving average is $174.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.66 and a 52 week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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 $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

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.

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