Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its position in Alphabet Inc. by 2.1%, holding 288,453 shares valued at approximately $45 million, making it the firm's 9th largest holding.
• Analysts' ratings on Alphabet are mixed, with the stock having an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $215.19, showing a divergence in investment sentiment.
• Alphabet has recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 288,453 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 6,235 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises approximately 1.6% of Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $45,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,991,725 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,470,344,000 after buying an additional 3,189,592 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $17,376,706,000 after buying an additional 5,758,244 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after buying an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 39,148,500 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,455,571,000 after buying an additional 294,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 34,103,417 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,494,655,000 after buying an additional 769,335 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5%

GOOG stock traded down $2.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $189.95. The company had a trading volume of 21,211,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,077,368. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $179.37 and a 200 day moving average of $174.69. Alphabet Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.66 and a 12 month high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.95%.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total transaction of $3,448,820.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.52, for a total transaction of $5,801,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,559,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $456,991,919.84. The trade was a 1.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GOOG shares. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $171.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.19.

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.