Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Decreases Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 8.0%, now owning 265,675 shares valued at approximately $41.51 million.
• Alphabet recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which has a dividend yield of 0.4% and will be paid on September 15th.
• The company's stock has shown strong earnings, reporting $2.31 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,675 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 23,121 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for approximately 1.1% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $41,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,964 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in Alphabet by 10.2% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 14,907 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in Alphabet by 2.7% during the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,771 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, jvl associates llc increased its position in Alphabet by 3.5% during the first quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 10,055 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alphabet from $186.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Lake Street Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was 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 approximately $8,371,905.30. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total value of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 242,319 shares of company stock worth $44,243,272. 12.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ:GOOG traded down $2.0740 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $200.4160. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,805,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,778,246. The business's 50-day moving average is $186.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.67 billion. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

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