Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL Shares Sold by Northstar Financial Companies Inc.

Key Points

• Northstar Financial Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 18.4% during the first quarter, owning 5,465 shares worth approximately $845,000.
• Alphabet recently reported earnings of $2.31 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and recorded a net margin of 31.12% with revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a yield of 0.4%, to be paid on September 15th, with record shareholders as of September 8th.

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. decreased its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,465 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,236 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises 0.9% of Northstar Financial Companies Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Northstar Financial Companies Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its position in Alphabet by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 15,706 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. Orion Investment Co raised its position in Alphabet by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 4,405 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter valued at $1,381,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in Alphabet by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 2,721,620 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $420,871,000 after buying an additional 109,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RB Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 33,391 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,164,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $47,225,230. Insiders own 11.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GOOGL. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. BNP Paribas Exane restated a "neutral" rating and set a $172.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $196.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.53.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $212.91. The company had a trading volume of 39,702,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,138,272. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $214.65.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. Research analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued 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 (DPR) is 8.95%.

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.