Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Sells 4,436 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,218 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,436 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.2% of Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $8,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:GOOGL traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $185.06. The company had a trading volume of 33,864,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,124,723. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $207.05.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.79. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.54% and a net margin of 30.86%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on GOOGL. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $203.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,813 shares in the company, valued at $1,192,275. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $1,837,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 261,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,844,050. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 215,843 shares of company stock worth $37,288,490. 11.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alphabet Company 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.