Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,125 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC sold 2,125 shares of Alphabet Inc., reducing its holding by 34.4% to 4,053 shares, which now constitutes 1.8% of its portfolio.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Alphabet, with Mystic Asset Management Inc. growing its holdings by 6.7%.
• Alphabet reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $2.31 and revenue of $96.43 billion, surpassing analysts' estimates.

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 34.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,053 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 2,125 shares during the quarter. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.8% of Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alphabet by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alphabet by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 88,187 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $13,637,000 after acquiring an additional 13,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total value of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total transaction of $6,497,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,462,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,281,408.64. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of GOOGL traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $236.33. 6,857,260 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,606,133. The company has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 52 week low of $140.53 and a 52 week high of $238.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The company had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on GOOGL shares. Roth Capital raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Alphabet 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.