Greenleaf Trust Lowers Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Greenleaf Trust lowered its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 406,101 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 11,936 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.6% of Greenleaf Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in Alphabet were worth $63,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 120,253 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,901,000 after buying an additional 6,410 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Alphabet by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 506,535 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $96,465,000 after buying an additional 20,855 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 82,690 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,747,000 after buying an additional 7,548 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,551,533,000. Finally, FWG Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Alphabet by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 7,569 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ GOOG traded up $1.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $178.70. 24,662,719 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,392,262. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $171.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.66 and a 12-month high of $208.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.36%.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related 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 value of $1,575,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 255,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,695,000. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock worth $36,330,928. Company insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Alphabet in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alphabet from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $207.63.

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.