Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Position Lessened by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Key Points

• Middleton & Co. Inc. MA reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 1.9%, holding now 234,717 shares worth approximately $36.30 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Alphabet's stock, with a consensus price target of $211.53 and multiple upgrades from several brokerages.
• Alphabet recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21, with a dividend yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 8.95%.

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA trimmed its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 234,717 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,455 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 4.2% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's holdings in Alphabet were worth $36,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% during the first quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co raised its stake in Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 27,075 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,187,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Rockbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,119,000. Cypress Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 4.1% during the first quarter. Cypress Capital LLC now owns 14,310 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Alphabet by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. 40.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GOOGL has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at $45,213,984. This represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 274,219 shares of company stock worth $49,674,273. 11.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $1.30 on Thursday, reaching $203.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,473,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,646,953. The stock's 50-day moving average is $182.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.22. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.01.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.16. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $96,428,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.95%.

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.