Meyer Handelman Co. Lowers Stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Meyer Handelman Co. lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,803 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 3,720 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 1.6% of Meyer Handelman Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Meyer Handelman Co.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $46,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GOOG. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O'toole sold 1,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.47, for a total value of $238,347.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,606,213.28. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $5,153,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,717,696 shares in the company, valued at $430,917,877.76. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 164,533 shares of company stock worth $26,772,774. Insiders own 12.99% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of GOOG stock traded down $2.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 36,230,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,239,371. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.88 and a 200 day moving average of $176.27. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. 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 announced 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. The firm had revenue of $90.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 28.60% and a return on equity of 32.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on GOOG shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC lowered shares of Alphabet from a "buy" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Alphabet from $209.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.94.

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.