Permit Capital LLC Sells 7,911 Shares of Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Permit Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 14.4%, now owning 47,000 shares worth approximately $7.34 million.
• Alphabet announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a 0.4% dividend yield, to be paid on September 15th, 2023.
• Alphabet's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $215.19, reflecting mixed sentiment from analysts.

Permit Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 14.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,000 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 7,911 shares during the period. Alphabet comprises 2.6% of Permit Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Permit Capital LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $7,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter valued at about $2,622,943,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 18,562.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,237,733,000 after purchasing an additional 14,246,573 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,570,922 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $64,299,725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,687,855 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 9.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 102,232,997 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $15,971,861,000 after purchasing an additional 9,243,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,098,042 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $10,873,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. 27.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alphabet Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded up $6.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $206.72. 25,689,130 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,142,382. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $187.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.73. Alphabet Inc. has a one year low of $142.66 and a one year high of $209.23. The company has a market cap of $2.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on GOOG shares. Barclays reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Pivotal Research lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.79, for a total transaction of $122,274.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,137.64. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.92, for a total value of $6,497,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,462,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $492,281,408.64. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,719 shares of company stock valued at $47,223,172. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alphabet 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.