Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,284,491 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 202,058 shares during the period. Alphabet makes up about 1.0% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Alphabet worth $1,745,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Alphabet in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Stock Performance

GOOGL traded up $1.00 on Thursday, reaching $177.62. The stock had a trading volume of 29,191,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,781,916. Alphabet Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.53 and a 12-month high of $207.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $2.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $169.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.69.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 30.86% and a return on equity of 34.54%. The firm had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. Alphabet's payout ratio is presently 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GOOGL shares. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Alphabet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Alphabet from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Alphabet from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Alphabet from $225.00 to $192.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.13.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director John L. Hennessy sold 600 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,192,275. The trade was a 8.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.87, for a total transaction of $5,553,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,620,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at $447,712,890.52. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 215,643 shares of company stock valued at $36,330,928. 11.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.