PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Cuts Position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Alphabet Inc. by 0.8%, owning 2,801,703 shares valued at $437.71 million as of its recent SEC filing.
• Alphabet reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.31, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, a 13.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid on September 15, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,801,703 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 21,567 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $437,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOG. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Alphabet by 18,562.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,323,323 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $2,237,733,000 after buying an additional 14,246,573 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Alphabet by 16.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,917,625 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 91,236,069 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $17,376,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,758,244 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alphabet by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 33,504,543 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $6,380,605,000 after acquiring an additional 4,247,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $786,942,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GOOG shares. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.19.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In related news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 243,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 249,399 shares of company stock valued at $43,525,794. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alphabet Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of GOOG traded down $2.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $189.95. 21,211,425 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,077,368. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.66 and a 52-week high of $208.70. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.69. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.02.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%. The firm had revenue of $96.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Alphabet's revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio 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.