QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 8,194 Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,053,573 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 8,194 shares during the period. Alphabet accounts for about 1.7% of QRG Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $162,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GOOGL. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 10.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,476 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Mason & Associates Inc raised its position in Alphabet by 124.7% in the first quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 15,788 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 8,761 shares during the period. Sentry LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 38.5% in the first quarter. Sentry LLC now owns 5,319 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,242 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Alphabet by 12.2% in the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 64,133 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $9,918,000 after purchasing an additional 6,964 shares during the period. 40.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 11,764 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.84, for a total transaction of $1,962,705.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,181,333.08. This represents a 19.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.90, for a total transaction of $32,380.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,232,544.70. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 195,570 shares of company stock worth $32,003,532. Company insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GOOGL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Alphabet from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Alphabet from $235.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Alphabet in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.75.

Alphabet Stock Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL opened at $173.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.53 and a 1 year high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $164.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.73.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Alphabet Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from Alphabet's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

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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