Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 1,386 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 1.1%, selling 1,386 shares to own a total of 125,241 shares, which now represent 1.3% of its portfolio.
• Insider transactions have been active at Alphabet, with director Kavitark Ram Shriram selling 18,566 shares worth approximately $3.45 million, while over the last ninety days, insiders sold a total of 249,399 shares worth about $43.5 million.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.4%, and is experiencing positive outlooks from analysts, with several raising their target prices.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,241 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,386 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.3% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $19,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 242.9% in the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Alphabet during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 400 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.98, for a total value of $72,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,094,245.74. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,399 shares of company stock worth $43,525,794. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:GOOGL opened at $189.13 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.53 and a twelve month high of $207.05. The company has a market cap of $2.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GOOGL. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.39.

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.

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