PFG Investments LLC Decreases Stake in Alphabet Inc. $GOOGL

Key Points

• PFG Investments LLC has reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 2.5% in the second quarter, now owning 72,544 shares, which are valued at approximately $12.8 million.
• Alphabet's CEO, Sundar Pichai, sold 32,500 shares recently, leading to a decrease of 1.33% in his ownership, with total shares valued at about $584.7 million post-transaction.
• Several brokerages have upgraded their price targets for Alphabet, with recommendations including a "buy" rating and a highest target of $295, indicating strong confidence in the company's performance.

PFG Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,544 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,868 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up about 0.7% of PFG Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. PFG Investments LLC's holdings in Alphabet were worth $12,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Alphabet by 242.9% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alphabet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alphabet by 85.7% in the first quarter. NBZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total value of $7,910,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,402,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,699,785.79. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Kent Walker sold 17,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.42, for a total transaction of $4,408,034.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,985 shares in the company, valued at $10,635,348.70. This trade represents a 29.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 276,738 shares of company stock worth $59,135,475. 11.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GOOGL. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Alphabet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Alphabet from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Alphabet from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $230.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $240.76.

Alphabet Price Performance

Shares of GOOGL opened at $250.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.00. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.53 and a 1-year high of $256.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.60 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 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.

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